Rising hotel prices fail to deter domestic winter travellers

Throughout December, January and February, 66 per cent of bookings made by travellers from the UK were for accommodation within the UK, according to data from HotelsCombined.

The website also found that there has been little change in the most popular city destinations over the past 12 months, with London, Manchester and Edinburgh again taking the top three positions.

The biggest change to last year was Belfast, after it rose from 12th to replace Bath in the top 10.

The average accommodation type booked remained a three-star property, with travellers from the UK paying on average, a nightly rate of £74.18 (down two per cent from £75.66 the previous year) and staying three nights.

Most expensive​

Bath, which fell to 13th place, was the most expensive UK winter destination with an average room night rate of £113.57 (up 16 per cent from £97.60 last year) and an average total spend of £170.29 (up 19 per cent from £142.64 last year).

Hull was the least expensive UK winter destination with an average room night rate of £43.34 (down 1.5 per cent from £44.03 last year) and an average total spend of £57.69 (down 33 per cent from £64.78 last year).

Alycia Simons, global PR and content manager for HotelsCombined, said: “Once again, travellers from the UK have demonstrated their preference for destinations that are close to home.

“Of these, London, Manchester and Edinburgh have taken the bulk of hotel bookings throughout the winter period, which has been a consistent trend throughout previous winter seasons.”

Greater demand​

Simons claimed that while the cities in the 10 remain relatively unchanged year-on-year, there has been an evident uplift in demand from travellers.

“Compared to winter last year, cities like Birmingham have seen a 26 per cent increase in hotel bookings, while bookings in Liverpool have increased by 24 per cent.

“Belfast moved into our top 10 this year after an incredible 94 per cent increase in hotel bookings.”

Simons also acknowledged that while the overall average nightly rate of accommodation in the UK dropped two per cent this winter, only two of the top ten cities reported a decrease in rate.

“This is positive for hoteliers who are benefiting from increased nightly rates and increased demand from travellers,” she explained.

Top 10 winter domestic destinations for UK travellers:​

1. London ​(1 last year) Average room night £107.68 (down one per cent)

2. Manchester ​(2) Average room night £91.54 (up 13 per cent)

3.​ Edinburgh​ (3) Average room night £101.802 (up eight per cent)

4.​ Glasgow ​(4) Average room night £72.55 (up one per cent)

5.​ Birmingham ​(5) Average room night £69.30 (up one per cent)

6. Liverpool ​(6) Average room night £86.96 (up five per cent)

7. Cardiff ​(8) Average room night £82.40, up two per cent)

8. Brighton ​(7) Average room night £88.62 (up six per cent)

9. York ​(9) Average room night £104.56 (up 13 per cent)

10. Belfast ​(12) Average room night £81.09 (down one per cent)