The Best May Performance Figures For UK Hotels Since The Millennium

Across all three main performance indicators - rate, occupancy and yield - hotels in the capital and the regions had their best May since the Millennium.

In London, average rooms yield reached £92.98, a 15.2% increase on the 2005 figure of £80.70. This was fuelled by a 7.1% increase in room rate to £112.98 and a room occupancy uplift of 7.5% to 82.3%.

The London guest nationality mix showed a 21.4% increase in the number of visitors from outside the traditional domestic, European, USA and Japanese markets. 'Other country' visitors now account for 19.3% of the total - up from 15.9% in 2005.

After a disappointing April that was largely due to the late Easter, regional hotel performance figures bloomed marvellously. Room rates rose 1.7% to £70.10 and occupancy improved by 4.2% to 74.9%, generating a 6.0% uplift in rooms yield to £52.48. Several regional and international events hosted around the country buoyed the overall performance.

Robert Barnard, partner for hotel consultancy services at PKF, said: 'Our April prediction that the strong growth trends of the first quarter would resume in May was totally vindicated by the best set of figures that we have seen since hotels' golden year of the Millennium.

'May 2006 may have been the fifth wettest since 1914 but major events around the country such as the Chelsea Flower Show, the FA Cup Final in Cardiff and the Sri Lankan Test Series were sold out as visitors refused to be daunted by the weather.

'The May performance also demonstrates the robustness of the UK hotel market. We are fortunate to have such a vibrant capital both in terms of business and leisure tourism. Momentum is now building towards the 2012 Olympic Games and a national forum to discuss the tourism opportunities and strategies was recently hosted by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, Visit London and VisitBritain. As the international spotlight will increasingly focus on London in the run-up to the Games, it will undoubtedly have a beneficial impact on London's hotel market.'

Preliminary data for May 2006


Final data for April 2006



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