Further falls for UK hoteliers

20th April 2009, 10:38am

Hotels across the UK experienced further falls across occupancy, room rate and rooms yield in March, according to monthly figures released today by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services.

Occupancy was down 1.3% on the same period last year, room rate was down 1.7% and, overall, rooms yield was down 3.0% from £92.54 last year to £89.80 in 2009. Year to date figures paint a similarly downward trend with rooms yield in London down 7.2% to £83.82 since the beginning of the year. 

In the regions, the year to date figure showed an 11.9% drop in rooms yield since January – a combination of a 6.6% drop to 61.6% in occupancy and a 6.0% drop in room rate from £77.14 to £72.75.

Year on year figures for the UK regions as a whole, show that occupancy, room rate and rooms yield were all down on the March 2008 figures. Occupancy fell 4.2% to 65.4%, room rate dropped from £76.92 to £73.39 and rooms yield was down 8.6% to £47.99.

Leeds and Cardiff both had strong months however. Leeds experienced a 4.1% increase in rooms yield from £52.20 last year to £54.35 this year. This was largely down to a 4.4% hike in occupancy which can most likely be put down to business conferences and the International Jazz Festival which the city played host to in March.

Robert Barnard, partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF, commented: "A true picture of how hoteliers fared in March is difficult to glean due to the fact that Easter fell in a different months between 2008 and 2009. The Easter break affects city hotels because there is always less business travel over the holiday period and as a result, many business conferences are deliberately postponed and this affects occupancy numbers.

"With the Easter break falling in March last year, the figures for the same month this year will inevitably be stronger. Most hoteliers did experience falls however and these could have been worse if it were not for the change in the Easter dates, therefore the global economic crisis has clearly taken hold of the hospitality sector."

Related Articles:

• 31 Jan 2011 - Snow disruption affects UK hoteliers, says PKF
• 10 Jan 2011 - Strong figures for London hoteliers in November, finds PKF
• 22 Nov 2010 - Hoteliers post mix bag of results for October
• 01 Nov 2010 - Strong September for hoteliers across the UK, says PKF
• 29 Sep 2010 - UK hoteliers achieve healthy August, says PKF
• 25 Aug 2010 - London hoteliers achieve strong July figures
• 21 Jun 2010 - Positive outlook for UK hoteliers in May
• 24 May 2010 - Mixed fortunes for UK hoteliers
• 26 Apr 2010 - Volcanic ash cloud puts pressure on UK hoteliers
• 22 Mar 2010 - London hoteliers achieve healthy growth
• 22 Feb 2010 - Snowfall in January affects many UK hoteliers
• 25 Jan 2010 - Hoteliers cash in on December festivities
• 26 Oct 2009 - London hoteliers continue to fill rooms
• 24 Aug 2009 - Summer holiday season worrying for hoteliers
• 27 Jul 2009 - UK hoteliers experience decline in first half of the year
• 29 Jun 2009 - Occupancy increases for London hoteliers, but the regions struggle
• 28 May 2009 - Regional hotels experience fall in room rates
• 26 Mar 2009 - Tough times predicted for UK hotel industry
• 26 Jan 2009 - UK hotel room rates continue to decline
• 16 Dec 2008 - UK hoteliers continue to feel pinch
• 24 Sep 2008 - UK hotels steady despite gloomy August
• 01 Sep 2008 - Steady growth for London hoteliers
• 28 Jul 2008 - London hotels remain steady
• 09 Jul 2008 - Hoteliers report steady growth
• 28 May 2008 - London hotels see strong growth
• 29 Apr 2008 - UK hoteliers experience slowdown in March
• 18 Apr 2008 - London hotels report 5.8% rise in room rates
• 11 Apr 2008 - UK hotel sector positioned well for 2008
• 26 Feb 2008 - UK hotels soar in January
• 01 Feb 2008 - Healthy December for UK hoteliers

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