Specialist market research company BDRC has just published the latest issue of its renowned British Hotel Business Guest Survey. The latest edition reveals how the economic crisis will affect the UK hotel market and what impact key factors such as the decline of the long stay leisure market and the rise of value brands are likely to have in the long-term.

The decline of the long stay leisure market

The research shows that the long stay leisure market (those who have made a five + night stay in the past 12 months) continues to decline, a trend first identified in 2004.  At 11 million, the number of long stay leisure room nights booked in 2008 was half that of 2006. Whilst the short break market (one to four nights stays) has experienced rapid growth in the past two years, increasing from 30 million room nights in 2006 to 37 million in 2008, its rise has not offset losses in the long stay market.

As Tim Sander, Director and author of the report says “In 2007 a key reason for the decline in long stay volume was definitely the poor summer, a problem we faced yet again in 2008. With the start of the credit crunch it seems that long stay holidays were also replaced with shorter breaks - a key cause for renewed interest in the latter.”

The rise of value brands – budget for business

There has been a steep increase in the number of business travellers using budget hotel brands – and this trend correlates exactly to the start of the economic downturn in 2008.  Budget hotel brands have made significant investments into their portfolios to close the gap in standards with the mid-market brands.  The three top most improved business brands for advertising awareness are all budget brands - Premier Inn, Travelodge and Holiday Inn Express. 

Sander says “Budget brands will not escape the current downturn unscathed as the recent Premier Inn figures have demonstrated. However, the market indicates that they will take less of a beating than their more upmarket counterparts.”