‘Compact hotel rooms’ represent nearly one-fifth of new openings in 2018

Compact sized hotel rooms will account for approximately 18% of all room openings in 2018, according to new research from commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH).

LSH’s new report found that the ‘compact hotel room concept’, which typically prioritises location, design quality and hi-tech features over room size, is “gaining traction in major UK cities”.

The report states that more than 4,000 rooms were delivered in new compact hotels during 2017-18, while there are a further 5,000 compact hotel rooms in the development pipeline, indicating the growing significance of the sector.

Overall, there has been a 95% increase in the number of compact sized hotel delivered annually rooms since 2016, a figure that underlines the relatively recent emergence of the compact format.

Nick Boyd, LSH operations director of hotel and leisure, said: “The hotel market is currently in a period of exciting change and we have seen a number of hotel groups turn conventional wisdom on its head and successfully operate hotels with compact sized bedrooms.

“Not only do these cleverly designed rooms appeal to the younger end of the hotel customer base but they have enabled hoteliers to provide affordable bedrooms in high value locations.”

He added: “Hotel operators are exploring new ideas in order to set themselves apart from competing brands and alternative accommodation types, with innovative technologies and novel room formats being adopted to offer new experiences to hotel visitors.”