KEY POINTS:
The rain-soaked summer has done little to dampen the UK hotel industry, as London enjoys the highest occupancy of any European city this year.
Despite fears about the impact of higher interest rates on consumer spending and the dreadful summer weather, the UK hotel market has maintained high levels of growth during the six months to the end of June, according to a survey by the consultancy Deloitte.
Across the UK, revPAR, or revenue per available room, which is the benchmark measure for the industry, has increased 8.3 per cent, with a number of cities posting double-digit increases.
In the capital, high demand has allowed hoteliers to increase rates, which has led to London hotels generating revPAR growth of 12.8 per cent.
Marvin Rust, hospitality managing partner at Deloitte, said: "The continued growth of global financial services and merger and acquisition activity is leading to strong demand for London hotels. With occupancy exceeding 80 per cent, we would expect average room rates in London to grow significantly in the next year, reflecting the 'full' status of the city."
Regional UK hotels have seen revPAR growth of 5.5 per cent. This was on top of revPAR growth of 4.7 per cent last year.
A lack of supply in Aberdeen meant the city achieved the highest revPAR growth in the country at 18.7 per cent in the first six months of the year.
The average hotel room in Aberdeen now costs £73 ($194) a night, up from £62 ($165) at the same time last year. Oil crew and business travel account for a large proportion, especially midweek when crews change.
A high-profile campaign from the Glasgow Marketing Bureau, and room bookings around the Uefa Cup final, contributed to rising occupancy and increased room rates in Glasgow, which had revPAR growth of 18.3 per cent.
Rust believes the outlook for hotels remains positive. "If the government continues to raise green taxes such as air-passenger duty, and concerns about leaving carbon footprints increase, more UK people could holiday at home rather than abroad.
"Hotels in the southwest in particular are most likely to benefit from domestic tourism. London's wealth will also have knock-on effects for tourism elsewhere in the UK."
- INDEPENDENT
