City hotels prosper while Blackpool suffers

HOTELIERS in Manchester and Liverpool saw strong year-on-year growth in November but their counterparts in Blackpool and Chester recorded lower revenues and occupancy rates.

Data from PKF Hotel Consultancy Services shows Manchester saw average room rates increase from £79.36 in November 2009 to £81.58 this year, up 2.8%.

Occupancy was up 4.7% from 77.6% to 81.3% and overall room yield was up from £61.62 to £66.32, up 7.6%.

Liverpool also fared well with occupancy rates rising by 3.5% to 75.7% in 2010. Room rate was down 0.3% to £66.85, but this did not have an adverse affect on room yield at £50.61, a 3.2% increase.

But hoteliers in Blackpool and Chester did not fare so well. Chester posted a decline of 3.3% in occupancy levels to 63.3%. Room rate went from £66.70 to £65.21, a fall of 2.2%.

Overall this resulted in room yield for the city dropping 5.4% to £41.28 in November. In Blackpool occupancy rates fell 7.3% to 63.5% whilst room rate dropped 2.4% to £61.74 and room yield declined 9.6% from £43.35 to £39.20.

Jane Jackson, a partner at PKF, said: “November appeared to generally be a steady month in the major cities, which is great news for the industry. The December figures could be more interesting as the majority of the snow disruption fell into this month. This can be both good and bad for hoteliers, with some losing out on bookings because travellers cannot get to their destination, while others benefit from stranded passengers looking for a bed for the night.”