The bad weather that affected large areas of the UK in January is thought to have had a major influence on hotel results for the month.
Hotel room occupancy saw a predictable fall as snowy conditions impacted on travel, although room rates across the UK saw an increase, according to PKF Hotel Consultancy Services, a division of PKF, a global network of accountancy firms.
London hotel room rates rose by 0.2 percent to average £112.49 during January, while occupancy in the capital saw a decline of 4.2 percent to 67.8 percent, compared to 72 percent for the same month a year ago. Revpar fell by 5.6 percent to £76.31.
Across the rest of the country, hotel rates rose by 1.7 percent from a year ago, to an average of £53.33 for the month, while occupancy fell by 0.9 percent to 56.2 percent. For the UK’s regional hotels, Revpar remained stable at £29.96 when compared to the same month last year.
PKF’s partner for hotel consultancy services, Robert Barnard, commented, ‘The poor weather that much of the country experienced in January appears to have hit occupancy, and there’s very little that operators can do in the circumstances. The timing of the New Year bank holiday didn’t help either, and effectively meant that the corporate market didn’t restart until the second week of January. January is traditionally a quiet month so these results are unlikely to be make or break for hoteliers. However, with the economy likely to remain fragile for the foreseeable future, the industry needs all the help it can get at the moment.’
