UK hotel bookings stabilise after volatile period

UK hotels entered a more predictable booking environment in 2025 after years of volatility and changing traveller behaviour, according to new data from guest acquisition and revenue platform SiteMinder.

SiteMinder’s Hotel Booking Trends report, based on more than 130 million hotel bookings, reveals that annual average daily rates (ADR) across the UK rose modestly by 1.35% year-on-year in 2025 to £191.55, up from £189.00 in 2024.

During the same period, cancellation rates and booking lead times were largely unchanged. Cancellations decreased from 18.27% to 18.24%, staying below the global average, while booking windows decreased from 35.46 to 35.11 days, remaining several days longer than the global average.

The trend towards stabilisation in the UK reflected global patterns, with cancellation rates decreasing slightly to 19.15% from 19.79% the year prior, while booking lead times increased moderately from 32.03 days to 32.15 days.

Further analysis of SiteMinder’s UK data shows that domestic bookings continue to dominate, accounting for 69.20% of all UK hotel arrivals in 2025, increasing from 68.37% the year prior.

The UK remains among the world’s most short-stay-heavy destinations, with 80.5% of bookings lasting a single night, slightly more than in 2024 when they accounted for 80.16%. In comparison, 73.09% of bookings globally were for a single night, a slight decrease from 73.20% the prior year.

Fridays again saw the highest rates, averaging £215 in 2025, up 0.93% year-on-year from £213.02. Saturday is now the second highest priced day with an annual average rate of £193.59, a 1.36% increase from £190.99 the year before, when it was the third highest priced day. Thursday, which was the second highest priced day in 2024 with a yearly ADR of £191.05, became the third highest priced date with an average rate of £192.31, a 0.66% increase.

Seasonality remained a strong driver, with July and August alone accounting for just over 19.34% of bookings last year, a slight increase from 19% the year before. Mirroring this, the year-on-year increase in ADR for the summer months outperformed the annual increase of 1.4%, with these increasing by 2.39% in July, to £215.39 from £210.36, and by 1.69% in August, from to £200.41 from £197.08.

James Bishop, SiteMinder’s VP of ecosystem and strategic partnerships, said: “A return to more stable booking behaviour will be welcome relief for UK hoteliers, allowing them to shift focus from reacting to volatility to optimising volume and revenue in a complex, competitive market. This means designing guest acquisition strategies that fully leverage demand peaks, while filling rooms midweek or during quieter months.

“Likewise, with city breaks, stopovers and business travel all playing a considerable role in the UK’s incoming travel, hoteliers would do well to design tailored offers that entice short-stay guests to add an extra night or two.”