Budget rooms growth spurt
The number of branded budget hotel rooms is predicted to rise to 75,000 by the end of 2005 and to 87,000 in 2007, according to a new report from consultants Deloitte.
This will mean adding between 6,000 and 6,300 new bedrooms each year and maintaining the level of growth seen in 2003, when more than 6,000 new budget bedrooms were opened. This represented a 10.6% rise on the 4,500 new rooms that came on stream in 2002.
Since then, the average size of budget hotels has grown from 61 to 64 bedrooms.
Both owner-operated and franchised hotels will fuel the growth, which will be underpinned by an increase in room bookings via the internet, said the report. (The number of online bookings doubled to 20% in the two years to 2003.)
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 25 November 2004