The Ryder Cup 2002 helped hotels in Birmingham achieve the biggest monthly leap in rooms yield, occupancy and room rate in the UK during…
The Ryder Cup 2002 helped hotels in Birmingham achieve the biggest monthly leap in rooms yield, occupancy and room rate in the UK during September, according to PKF`s hotel consultancy services.
Data from PKF`s regional trends survey shows yet again the extent to which a major event can drive hotel demand in a city. The disappointment suffered by the city`s hoteliers following the abrupt cancellation of the Ryder Cup in
September 2001, in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the US, has been replaced by a sparkling performance in the region. Rooms yield in September in Birmingham jumped 36.5% to £53.25, achieved by a 15.4% increase in occupancy to 77.8% and an 18.3% rise in average room rate to £68.44.
The Solihull & Birmingham Airport area saw rooms yield rise 25.2% to £70.92, thanks to a 9.9% increase in occupancy to 74.9% and a 13.9% rise in room rate to £94.69. Even neighbouring Coventry felt the benefits
with a rise in both occupancy and room rate to achieve an 8.8% increase in rooms yield to £37.71.
The Ryder Cup, held at The De Vere Belfry hotel, had its main impact in the last week of the month, but was not the only sporting event in the city, with the Davis Cup Tennis at the National Indoor Arena also drawing the crowds, earlier in the month.
Melvin Gold, managing director of PKF hotel consultancy services, said, “The Ryder Cup is a good example of how beneficial it is to the hotel market when a city hosts a major event. And whilst these excellent
figures are compared against September 2001 – when the cancellation of the event at short notice left a hole in the hotel order books – the market turned in a strong performance not just against last year, but against
seasonal historic norms in both occupancy and room rate in all three areas that we looked at.”
Brian Hamblin, regional managing partner for PKF in the Midlands, said, “Birmingham as a whole got an incredible boost from the city`s successful events during September, with £17 million injected into the local economy during the six days of the Ryder Cup. Such a high profile event definitely provided a strong focus for people coming into the area and many businesses benefited from the extra trade.”
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