Fears that the UK hotel industry would suffer badly from the terrorist attacks last month may be abated from the picture that emerges from performance figures…
Fears that the UK hotel industry would suffer badly from the terrorist attacks last month may be abated from the picture that emerges from performance figures for July, according to PKF (UK) LLP hotel consultancy services. PKF`s monthly report for July shows that whilst London hotels took a knock, with occupancy down just under 5%, average rates were holding steady and regional performance seemed unaffected.
London hotels reported a 4.9% drop in occupancy to 79.4%, whilst average room rate was up 1.2% at £105.01, leaving rooms yield down 3.8% at £83.37.Outside London, regional hotels showed a 0.7% fall in occupancy to 76.9%, offset by a 2.4% rise in average room rate, leading to a 1.7% increase in rooms yield.
Robert Barnard, partner for hotel consultancy services at PKF, said: “Any fall in occupancy is cause for concern, but the capital`s hoteliers lost less than 5% in July – considering the global impact of the terrorist attacks on London during July, hoteliers have done well to keep the losses down this much. We are confident they can bounce back during August and September. Meanwhile, rumours of hoteliers lifting their rates in the wake of the attacks don`t seem to be supported by the figures, which show that room rate hardly moved during the month as a whole.
“Outside London the picture is very calm – a minor loss in occupancy was offset by a modest rise in room rate. Overall, we expect to see a healthier set of figures next month both in London and across the UK, but given the severity and nature of the problems faced by the industry, and the capital as a whole, hoteliers have done the best they could.”
Preliminary data for July 2005
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
