City hotels report strong December as Blackpool struggles

THE region’s city centre hotels experienced a strong end to the year, outperforming the regional UK average in December, according to research from business advisers BDO.

The firm’s latest Hotel Report reveals that hotels in Chester, Manchester and Liverpool saw rooms yields increase by 11.9%, 10% and 9.4% respectively on 2012, compared to a regional UK average of 8.5%. 

However, hotels in Blackpool struggled with occupancy levels at just 45% and rooms yield remaining largely static (increasing by just 0.4% to £25.80).
 
The hotel survey found that 74% of the 5,100 rooms available in Manchester were occupied in December 2013 at an average rate of £78.34, up 10% compared to December 2012.  

In Liverpool and Chester, although the average price paid for rooms remained static, a stream of Christmas shoppers saw occupancy levels rise by 8.5% and 7.8% respectively, resulting in solid revenue growth.
 
Mark Sykes, partner at BDO in the North West, said:  “The figures are positive, with hotels across most cities in the region reporting an encouraging set of results to end the year.  
 
“Christmas shoppers and partygoers inevitably played their part in December’s growth, especially for hotels in the sub £50 category.  Passenger growth at Manchester Airport during the Christmas and New Year period also saw airport hotels posting a high increase in occupancy.
 
“Growth in the regions seems to be leading the sector out of recession, however the market remains challenging as is evident by Blackpool’s results.  

“Provided that consumer and business confidence continues its upward trajectory, we can be optimistic about hotel performance throughout the rest of the year.”