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Aberdeen hoteliers recorded historic lows for occupancy during the month of December 2015.
The monthly LJ Forecaster Scottish Intercity Report from tourism market research firm LJ Research found just over half (51.6%) of hotel rooms in Aberdeen were occupied in December.
This signified a drop of 16.9% in occupancy and marked the 15th consecutive month of year-on-year occupancy losses for the city.
Alongside the decline in occupancy, hotels in Aberdeen recorded shrinking average room rate (ARR), with the average cost of a room tumbling by 19.8% compared with last year to £72.13.
The December rates continued to be driven by the traditional corporate markets as midweek (Monday to Thursday) ARR was £79.99 compared to the weekend (Friday to Sunday) ARR of £58.20.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) in Aberdeen fell to just £37.25 – a historic low and a 33.3% drop compared with last year.
Meanwhile, in Glasgow hoteliers recorded occupancy growth of 2.7% to 71.3% and hoteliers in Edinburgh reported an increase of 2.1% to 80.4% compared with 2014. LJ said Hogmanay celebrations contributed to this growth with 95% of Glasgow rooms and 98% of Edinburgh rooms sold on New Year’s Eve.
Coinciding with the growth in occupancy, Glasgow and Edinburgh hotels achieved ARR growth of 2.6% and 3.4%, respectively. This resulted in ARR of £66.79 in Glasgow and £94.05 in the capital.
RevPAR was up 5.7% and 5.6% for Glasgow and Edinburgh, respectively.
Sean Morgan, MD, said: “This upbeat finish to the year will do much to shape expectations and momentum for 2016 among hotels and other tourism businesses in these cities.
“In Aberdeen, the downward spiral of hotel performance linked to ongoing energy sector challenges culminated this month with a new record low RevPAR.
“With the price of oil hovering at around $30 a barrel and evidence of a significant reduction in demand for accommodation in the coming months, it seems likely that hotel market challenges in Aberdeen will continue into 2016.”
