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Magnuson Hotels CEO Thomas Magnuson has warned that the share of UK independent hoteliers within the industry will fall to 22% by 2026, down from their current share of 50% in 2022.
Speaking in the House of Lords, Magnuson outlined the rapid decline in the number of UK hotels owned by independent private businesses, which stood at 78% in 2010.
In Magnuson’s presentation to the Travel Technology Initiative Organisation, he also stated that “even though the UK hospitality industry is the second largest job creator in the UK and contributes over £100bn per year to the UK economy, it is overlooked that 72% of UK hotels have 50 rooms or less”.
He also referred to Airbnb, founded in 2008, as already representing listings equalling 88% of the total UK hotel room supply, and estimates that by 2026, the Airbnb supply will be 14% greater than the total UK hotel room inventory.
The UK hotel industry has not recognised Airbnb as part of the industry, according to the CEO, as Airbnb rooms are not “nationally registered as businesses” and the operators are not subject to the same regulations and costs as hoteliers.
To fight the problem, he reportedly proposed several solutions which include a nationwide business registration process to include all UK hotels, chains, independent hotels as well as Airbnb listings, and a designation of protected status for those UK independent hotel entities that are privately held or non-public.
A national requirement of area impact studies for all proposed new hotels has also been proposed, as UK occupancy has reportedly already fallen from high 70% to low 60% in the provinces.
