UK hoteliers held steady in October, with hotels outside the capital holding occupancy and room rate at virtually last year`s levels…
UK hoteliers held steady in October, with hotels outside the capital holding occupancy and room rate at virtually last year`s levels , whilst those in the capital saw a reasonable rise in rooms yield – providing a stable base to welcome in the season of good will and hopefully a boost to bookings.
London hotels experienced a 6% year on year rise in average room rate in October to £107.85, whilst occupancy slipped 2.2% to 79.6%, leaving rooms yield up 3.7% at £85.89.
Outside London, hoteliers saw average room rate barely change at £66.25, only 0.4% up on the same month last year. Occupancy was unchanged at 75.6% and rooms yield increased only 0.4% to £50.06.
Robert Barnard, partner for hotel consultancy services at PKF, said: “The UK hotel industry has achieved another solid performance in October, in marked contrast to that sad October in 2001 which saw occupancy fall to 65.1% in London with average room rate at £105.75. In comparison with October 2001, rooms yield was £85.89 in October 2004, a difference of nearly 25%.
“This demonstrates not only the impact that major world events can have on London, but also the capital`s resilience in bouncing back from such disasters. Let`s hope this positive performance heralds a strong end to the year in the run-up to Christmas.”
Preliminary data for October 2004
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
