UK regional hotels suffer over Easter
Regional hotels saw room rates and occupancy fall over the Easter period, according to the latest figures from PKF Hotel Consultancy Services.
Room rate fell by 11.2% from £78.17 in April 2008 to £69.43,while occupancy was down 13.6% to 63.9%.
Rooms yield plunged 23.2% to £44.40. The year to date fall in yield has now fallen 15.6% from £51.93 in 2008 to £43.85.
Birmingham hoteliers suffered a 20% drop in occupancy and 15% reduction in room rate which resulted in rooms yield falling by almost a third (32.1%) to £42.72.
Leeds fared almost as badly with the combination of a 24% drop in occupancy and a 9% fall in room rate causing a 30.8% plunge in yield to £40.45 from £58.46 the previous April.
Liverpool rooms yield also fell sharply by 28.6% to £59.55 while Manchester rooms yield dropped 21.7% to £55.77.
However, Edinburgh saw a 6% increase in occupancy to 77.2% which was achieved at the expense of only a 6.1% drop in room rate from £85.64 to £80.46.
In London, average room occupancy was 82.5%, up 0.9% on April 2008, but room rate fell 10.6% to £123.85 dragging rooms yield down by 9.7% to £102.11.
PKF believes room occupancy was retained through the extensive use of leisure discounting deals to attract visitors into the capital over Easter.
Partner Robert Barnard said: “While the buoyant occupancy figures for London are indicative of the capital’s resilience to virtually every kind of economic, political, biological and climatic turbulence, hoteliers are clearly sacrificing margin in order to fill their beds.
“The longer the recession continues, the more it will eat into these margins and the harder it will be for hotels to survive.
“The worsening scenario in the UK’s major cities must be of serious concern to the hotel industry as a 30% drop in yield clearly cannot be sustained over a long period of time.
“It is too soon to say how much the April Easter is responsible for the dire results but we can only hope that the glimmerings of more positive economic news among the gloomy headlines will result in a better second half of the year.â€
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season