UK hotel rates on decline

The figures, which are released quarterly, show that the major cities across the UK have seen a drop in average room rates for this period. Liverpool seeing the biggest drop (-14.3%) followed by Bristol (-11.7%) and Leeds (-10.7%) with only Reading seeing the same rates as last year, remaining at an average of £103. London shows a small decline from last year but an improvement from the last quarter of 2016.  

In Ireland it was a different picture with the top 3 cities seeing increases. Cork saw the largest increase (29.1%) in average rate per room night.

Talking about the findings, Andy Besent, HRS Managing Director (UK & Ireland) commented “There continues to be uncertainty in the UK surrounding Brexit and now with Teresa May calling for an early general election we will have to wait to see the impact. We have seen outbound travel from the U.K. more expensive due to the weak pound but the fall in average rates should at least make the UK a more attractive and cost effective destination for travellers”.

Table 1: Average prices per room for hotel accommodation in major cities in UK in Q1 2017. Evaluation period: 01.01.2017 – 31.03.2017

Europe: Zurich remains the most expensive city
Zurich remains the most expensive city in the evaluation (£149). Bargain travellers looked to Prague, where the average cost for the night was £57.

The most expensive in the first quarter were hotel prices in Zurich (£149), London (£145) and Stockholm (£122).

In contrast Istanbul the average prices for hotel overnight stays fell by -6.3% to £63 whilst Moscow saw an increase of 26.5% to £89 a night. 

Andy continues “There are increased security concerns around Europe however early reports show that following the recent terrorist attack in Westminster, hotel occupancy rates in London remained in line with March patterns, Paris saw a 1.6% incline and Berlin saw a 2.3% increase showing resilience”. 

Table 2: Average prices per room for hotel accommodation in major cities in Europe in 2017. Evaluation period: 01.01.2017 – 31.03.2017

World: Average night in Washington at £206 – in Kuala Lumpur at £45
On a global scale, there is a large variety of rates with different developments compared to the previous year's period. HRS was able to record a price development of 32.4% to £122 in its database for Cape Town. While prices in Kuala Lumpur fell by -13.1% to an average of £45. The most expensive city of the evaluation is Washington with £206 per night. Toronto saw the second biggest increase at 29.1%. 

Table 3: Average prices per room for hotel accommodation in major cities in the world in Q1 2017. Evaluation period: 01.01.2017 – 31.03.2017

Andy concludes “It is a turbulent time with factors such as the slowdown of the Chinese economy, Brexit, Donald Trump’s election and terrorism. The travel policies of Donald Trump are likely to continue to have an impact on travel and it will be interesting to see what the impact will be on the US market interestingly Washington saw the highest average rate in all top world destinations in Q1”. 

About the evaluation: All hotel bookings in the period of 1 January 2017 and 31 March 2017 that were not cancelled were surveyed. Single as well as double rooms, with and without breakfast in hotels of the categories 1 to 5 stars were considered in the selection. Destinations with a correspondingly high booking volume were evaluated. Exchange rate correct as of 5 April 2017.

Theodore Koumelis

Co-Founder & Managing Director - Travel Media Applications | Website | + Posts

Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.

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