Sluggish start to the year for hotels
UK hotels have had a slow start to the year, according to January figures released today by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services.
Rooms yield fell by 5.6% to £76.31 in London and by 0.1% to £29.96 in the regions. Occupancy declined in the capital by 5.8% to 67.8%, with only a 0.2% rise in room rate to £112.49. Meanwhile, the regions experienced a 1.7% drop in occupancy to 56.2%, while room rate increased 1.7% to £53.33.
Robert Barnard, partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF, said that while January is traditionally a quiet month for hotels, the disappointing start to the year is not what the hotel industry had been hoping for.
"The poor weather that much of the country experienced in January appears to have hit occupancy, and there's very little that operators can do in the circumstances," he explained.
"The timing of the New Year bank holiday didn't help either, and effectively meant that the corporate market didn't restart until the second week of January.
"With the economy likely to remain fragile for the foreseeable future, the industry needs all the help it can get at the moment."
End of year report: hotel rooms yield up, but occupancies down in 2012 >>