Scotland hotels beat UK performance
Scotland topped the UK’s occupancy levels despite a 0.9 per cent drop, outperforming regional UK’s overall 76 per cent.
Glasgow experienced the highest occupancy at 86.3 per cent, and the highest year-on-year increase in revenue during May, rising 19.4 per cent to £54.42.
Inverness recorded 82.6 per cent occupancy, Edinburgh 81.8 per cent and Aberdeen 76.2 per cent.
Scottish rooms yield rose to £59.72, compared to £47.23 in regional UK (£45.11 in England and £44.01 in Wales).
Revenue in Aberdeen was the highest in the UK outside London at £78.61, and Edinburgh followed at £71.80, while Inverness hit £45.76.
Increase in revenue
Alastair Rae, a partner in the property, leisure and hospitality sector at BDO, said: “The slight fall in occupancy experienced across Scotland’s hotel sector is to be expected when there is an increase in revenue. As prices rise there is a natural settling of the level of occupancy and we can see that as the tourism season developed Scotland has soared ahead of the rest of the UK both in terms of occupancy and revenue.
“There are clear signs that tourists began to arrive in Scotland following the late Easter with Inverness recording a 7.6% rise in revenue. The Aberdeen hotel sector continues to soar on the back of the oil and gas sector with revenue in May almost £20 higher (£59.66 in May 2007) than it was in the same month in 2007 indicating real growth over the last seven years.
“For Edinburgh and Glasgow, however, revenue numbers are lower than the pre-recession period. This is an indication of just how substantially revenue fell over the last seven years.”
Corporate hospitality spending
He hailed the results as “excellent progress”, expecting 2014 to be the best financial year since 2007 due to the return of economic confidence and leisure spending/
“The sector now needs the return of corporate hospitality spending to return to pre-recession income levels and there are indications that this is occurring, albeit, cautiously,” Rae added.
