Glasgow’s hotel sector concluded 2014 with a strong performance in December, according to the LJ Forecaster report from tourism market research specialists LJ Research.
Whilst room occupancy decreased slightly to 69.4% – a fall of 1.6% compared to December 2013 – room rates were up by a solid 6.3% compared to December 2013 among city centre hoteliers.
As a result, revenue per available room (RevPAR), the industry’s main performance measure, rose by 4.7% to £45.12, which marked the 13th consecutive month of RevPAR growth in the city.
Strong demand
Strong demand for accommodation was evident during the first half of the month as the city played host to a number of events from World Cup Gymnastics and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards to high-profile concerts at the SSE Hydro, including Status Quo, Andre Rieu and Jools Holland.
The year bowed out in style as city centre hoteliers sold 85% of their rooms and achieved double digit growth in average room rate for Hogmanay.
Exceptional hotel performance through 2014
Sean Morgan, Managing Director of LJ Research, said: “Even though fewer rooms were sold, December was another positive month for Glasgow hotels as yields increased to record high levels.
“Glasgow recorded exceptional hotel performance throughout 2014 driven by a range of factors, including the Commonwealth Games and a host of other high-profile leisure and business events throughout the year. Glasgow hoteliers will reflect very positively on the year as a whole as both room occupancy and room rate growth was achieved with the latter growing by around 15%.
“These results, along with our forecast insights which show demand for accommodation demonstrably above previous years for the quarter ahead, suggest that Glasgow’s strong performance is likely to maintain momentum.”
About LJ Research Ltd
LJ Research Ltd is a leading provider of key data and specialised insight to the tourism, travel and hospitality industry. Produced by LJ Research Ltd, the LJ Forecaster produces the most comprehensive set of destination occupancy reports available, providing hotel and destination tourism managers with an up-to-date picture of the total room occupancy and availability in their city based on past and future sales.
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