Business
Regional hotel property focus
The latest in our series looking at key statistics in the UK hotel sector – revenue performance, room numbers and establishments – puts York in the spotlight
Punching above its weight
Despite only being the 53rd largest urban area by population in the UK (per the 2011 census), York has always punched above its weight, and it ranked 14th on the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) list of UK cities most visited by international travellers. This included 310,000 overnight visits in 2014 according to VisitBritain – up from 224,000 in 2010. VisitYork estimates that the city attracts around seven million visitors annually, of which 1.5 million stay overnight. York’s heritage status and wealth of visitor
attractions have made it a key destination for tourists and business travellers, leading to high levels of occupancy both during the week and at weekends. The comparative strength and diversity of the local economy also drove an 8.5% population increase between 2004 and 2013. At the same time, the historic nature of the city means that there is a shortage of sites suitable for new hotel development. Of a total hotel room stock of 3,630, according to AM:PM, only 365 have come on-stream since 2010, principally relating to three openings: the Grand Hotel & Spa in 2010, Hampton by Hilton in 2012 and, most recently, Hotel Indigo in July 2015. This comparative shortage of new stock has helped to generate room rate growth well above the UK regional average according to HotStats: 7% for York versus 6.1% for regional UK in the 12 months ending May 2015. 65% of current hotel rooms are branded, with 11 branded limited service hotels alone – and a further new Travelodge scheduled to open in 2016. As with most UK regional locations, York
occupancy exhibits strong seasonality, achieving 80%+ in the peak months of July- October, but falling to below 70% between
42 | The Caterer | 31 July 2015 Brand breakdown
Budget brands Premier Inn
Travelodge
Hampton by Hilton Ibis
Holiday Inn Express
Mid-market brands Best Western
December and January. It is noticeable that in the period between February and May 2015 York significantly underperformed compared to the regional UK average on occupancy growth (and year on year occupancy falls in each of March, April and May), which has only partially been offset by outperformance on room rate. This suggests that for some operators a move towards a more occupancy-driven yield management strategy may pay dividends. Additionally, non-room average spend was flat for the 12 months ending May 2014 compared to the previous year, reflecting the high level of dining options available in York and the burgeoning UK casual dining scene.
Christian Mole, executive director, hospitality and leisure, EY
Park Inn by Radisson Holiday Inn Mercure
Inns of Character
Upmarket brands Principal Hayley
Marriott Hilton
Novotel Hotel Indigo
Hotels Rooms 5 3 1 1 1
3 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
214 200 142 89 21
158 148 131 124 101
www.thecaterer.com
390 237 119 91 49
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76