Register to get 3 free articles
Register to unlock the article and receive our free newsletter. Join 26,000 other hotel leaders and stay in the know.
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
As UK businesses entered deflation for the first time since 2009, hotels benefitted from increased consumer confidence, according to business and accountancy firm BDO.
Falling business costs and increased wage growth for consumers resulted in increased consumer confidence, while events such as Valentine’s Day and the Six Nations rugby tournament also helped to boost bookings.
Compared with February last year, regional hotels saw an 8.4% rise in average room rate to £57.43, while occupancy increased by 2.7% to 71.8%. Rooms yield was up an impressive 11.4% to £41.22.
Hotels in London also saw a growth in rooms yield, up 2.9% to £86.68, this was the result of a high average room rate – £110.37, up 2.7% – on the back of strong demand.
Robert Barnard, partner at BDO, said: “Despite being the shortest calendar month, healthy domestic tourism together with cost deflation, have propelled February hotel figures to give the sector an incredibly strong start to the year.
Barnard specifically highlighted the effect of kety sporting events, which he described as a “winning formula”.
He added: “As we emerge strong from the recession and consumers have more cash in their pockets, we expect even further domestic tourism, as well as increased overseas travellers numbers, will help the industry continue to thrive.”
The news follows BDO’s figures for January which showed the hotel sector’s highest results since 2010.
