The UK hotel sector continued its strong run in September with another impressive set of results, according to preliminary figures released today by business advisory and accountancy firm, BDO LLP.
The performance of London hotels was particularly impressive, with room rate increasing by 8.9% to £145.37, compared with £133.51 in September 2012. This, combined with a slight increase in occupancy from 87.6% to 87.7%, resulted in rooms yield growth of 8.9% from £117.05 to £127.48.
In the regions, room rate rose by 1.8% to reach £63.42, compared with £62.31 exactly 12 months earlier, and occupancy grew by 4.0% year-on-year from 76.4% to 79.5%. Rooms yield consequently improved by 5.9% from £47.62 to £50.43.
Robert Barnard, partner at BDO LLP, commented: “The UK hotel sector has stepped up a gear over the past few months. Encouragingly, the strong figures that we’ve seen since the start of the summer chime with the conversations that we’re having with hotel operators throughout the country.
“That said, the sector isn’t getting carried away – we’ve seen too many false dawns over the past couple of years for that to happen – and the prevailing sentiment remains one of cautious optimism.
“For the time being, operators continue to cross their fingers that consumer and business confidence maintains its upward trajectory while also making sure that they stay attractively priced in what remains a highly competitive market.”
Preliminary data for September 2013
| Rooms department | 2013 | 2012 | % change |
| UK Regional hotels | |||
| Average daily room rate per occupied room | £63.42 | £62.31 | 1.8% |
| Average daily room occupancy | 79.5% | 76.4% | 4.0% |
| Average daily rooms yield per available room | £50.43 | £47.62 | 5.9% |
| Approximate number of rooms per day | 80,050 | ||
| London hotels | |||
| Average daily room rate per occupied room | £145.37 | £133.51 | 8.9% |
| Average daily room occupancy | 87.7% | 87.6% | 0.0% |
| Average daily rooms yield per available room | £127.48 | £117.05 | 8.9% |
| Approximate number of rooms per day | 27,550 |
Final data for August 2013
| Rooms department | 2013 | 2012 | % change |
| UK Regional hotels | |||
| Average daily room rate per occupied room | £60.87 | £60.92 | -0.1% |
| Average daily room occupancy | 78.8% | 73.9% | 6.6% |
| Average daily rooms yield per available room | £47.97 | £45.04 | 6.5% |
| Approximate number of rooms per day | 73,450 | ||
| London hotels | |||
| Average daily room rate per occupied room | £139.55 | £164.05 | -14.9% |
| Average daily room occupancy | 85.9% | 81.9% | 4.9% |
| Average daily rooms yield per available room | £119.87 | £134.37 | -10.8% |
| Approximate number of rooms per day | 34,700 |
BDO’s hotel trends surveys feature a broad range of hotels across the country although mainly in the 3 and 4 star categories and featuring rather more chain operated hotels than those operated independently. While there are a fair number of hotels in country and rural areas, there is a predominance of hotels in towns and cities. In London, supply featured is mainly in the 3 and 5 star categories. The definitions of the key terms used in the surveys are as follows:
- Room occupancy: the ratio of total occupied rooms to total available rooms
- Average achieved room rate (AARR): rooms revenue divided by the total number of guest rooms occupied during the year
- Rooms yield: room occupancy multiplied by the average achieved room rate (also known as RevPar).