The UK has recorded the highest level of hotel room openings since 2012, when London hosted the Olympic Games.
Over 7,500 rooms opened across the UK in the first half of 2017, over 40 per cent higher than the same period last year, and the highest figure since 2012.
The Hotel Bulletin Q2 2017 report – compiled by AlixPartners, AM:PM and HVS – highlighted notable openings including two new Premier Inn properties totalling 613 rooms, and five-star London hotel The Ned, offering 252 rooms.
The report also examined the effect of recent terrorist attacks in London and Manchester on the citys’ hotel markets.
The report said that “although the medium and long-term impacts of the attacks in London and Manchester remain to be seen, demand metrics for May and June 2017 indicate that the impact has been less significant than expected”.
It noted that “after a small dip” in revPAR (revenue per available room) between June 6 and 9, London’s hotel market “was quick to recover and return to growth” following the London Bridge attack.
This was compared with Paris and Brussels, which both “suffered noticeable revPAR declines” in the months following terrorist attacks.
The report said that “recent currency movements may have helped shelter the UK from a similar level of impact to Paris and Brussels”, and concluded that London and Manchester’s hotel markets “are sufficiently robust that these one-off incidents did not cause anything more than a small knock to otherwise strong performance”.
To read the report in full, visit hvs.com
