Budget hotels driving UK hotel sector growth

The budget hotel sector now accounts for 25% of the UK's total supply and will continue to drive the growth of new hotel supply, with a further 11,600 rooms due to open in 2017.

That is according to Knight Frank's UK Hotel Development Opportunities 2017 report. The research says the UK hotel industry saw the opening of 16,000 new rooms in 2016, a 2.7% growth in total hotel supply and a 20% increase in the volume of new hotel rooms opening year-on-year.

The analysis suggests this has been bolstered by the dramatic growth in the budget hotel sector, which now equates to over half of all new hotel supply, with 8,000 new rooms opening in 2016.

Representing 57% of the forecast new bedroom supply and 64% of all new build properties, the budget hotel sector is set to stand at over 165,000 rooms by the end of 2017.

Despite London's hotel supply increasing by over 10,000 new rooms since the start of 2015, scarcity of available sites in the capital, rising land values driven by competitive alternative uses and strong regional trading performance have resulted in the UK regions leading the development in 2016 with 67% of the new hotel supply.

Knight Frank has also launched its inaugural Knight Frank UK Hotel Development Index which identifies the UK cities considered to present the best prospects for hotel investment and development. Bath, Brighton, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Belfast are ranked as the UK's top five most attractive cities for hotel development for 2017.

Julian Evans, head of healthcare and hotels at Knight Frank, said: "We expect to see a further growth and diversification of the budget hotel sector and predict that the brands which adapt to the current market conditions and refine their offer will be the success stories. We also believe that the regions will continue to present good prospects for investors to seek viable hotel development and investment opportunities in the UK."

Investment in hotel assets hit £3.4b in 2016 >>

UK hotel revpar continues to increase, with development outstripping acquisition >>

UK hotel sector to open 20,000 new bedrooms in 2017 >>

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