Recent strong hotel performance unlikely to last

According to figures released by PKF hotel consultancy services, London hotels saw room occupancy drop by an average of 4.7 per cent in February this year compared to the same period last year, although revPAR was boosted 1.7 per cent as a results of an increased room rate from £120.28 to £128.31.

Regional hotels for the month also hiked room rate by an average of 1.8 per cent, from £59.81 in 2010 to £60.91. Again despite a slight drop in occupancy of 0.8 per cent, revPAR grew by 0.5 per cent to £39.27.

Preliminary figures for March also returned similar results with a revPAR increase across the board, although for some this was due to higher occupancy levels.

Continued success?​

Robert Barnard, partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF, said he expected hoteliers to return strong results for the next couple of months following the two extended bank holiday weekends in April.

“These are healthy figures for the industry and I expect, particularly for London, that the figures will remain strong over the next few months with the Royal Wedding at the end of April expected to bring in additional visitors to the capital.”

However he added that hotel performance for the rest of the year looked less steady.

“The rest of the year is likely to be less settled as the industry continues to be impacted by broader worldwide issues,” he said. “London should be less affected especially as it benefits from the build up to the Olympic Games and the Champions League Final. The regions however, will more likely have a slower recovery and be dependent on growth in the MICE and corporate markets.”