Glasgow and Edinburgh report strong growth in June, Aberdeen falters

Hoteliers in Scotland’s three largest cities have reported mixed results in June, according to research released today. 

The monthly LJ Forecaster Scottish Intercity Report from tourism research firm LJ Research found demand for hotels was highest in Glasgow where room occupancy soared to 92.7%, up 7.4% on the previous year. During 16 separate nights in June, room occupancy was 95% or above.

Occupancy in Glasgow was said to be buoyed number of large-scale business and leisure events including conferences such as the European Society for Human Genetics, the Union National Conference and the International Conference on Cytometry, and leisure performances such as Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Taylor Swift and AC/DC.

Edinburgh hotels also benefitted from a surge of business and leisure guests as average occupancy was 90.9%. However, occupancy in Aberdeen was down 13.5% to 69.1% compared with 79.9% in June 2014.

Meanwhile, average room rate (ARR) was highest in Edinburgh with the average room costing £112.62, but this was flat when compared to a year earlier. Aberdeen came second with ARR £86.33, although this signalled a 12.7% decline on last year, while Glasgow at £80.63 saw a significant growth of 15.4% on the June last year.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR) or yield, was highest in Edinburgh at £102.42, up by 1.2% compared to June 2014.

RevPAR in Glasgow soared by 24.3% compared to last year to £74.76, which for the second consecutive month outperformed Aberdeen (£59.66) where RevPAR fell by 24.6%

LJ said that looking to the next few months ahead, accommodation bookings are building steadily for hoteliers in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Although it said for Aberdeen there is evidence for a double-digit reduction in bookings for July.

Sean Morgan, managing director at LJ Research, said: “As we near the first anniversary of Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games, the spotlight is again on Scotland’s largest city. Significant conference activity combined with world renowned music and events have helped to generate remarkable growth for hoteliers in the city.

“Conversely, the clouds continue to darken in the north east as hotel demand and rate for the second successive month each fell by over 10%. News that oil supply is set to expand due to the relaxing of Iran sanctions is likely to generate even greater uncertainty for hotels in Aberdeen.”