 Solid October for hoteliers despite the unhelpful trading environment
28 November 2011: Hoteliers across the UK performed steadily in October, according to preliminary hotel figures released today by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services.
Rooms yield in London rose by 1.4% from £111.14 in October 2010 to £112.70, driven by a 3.6% increase in room rate from £124.97 to £129.43. Performance was dented slightly by a 2.1% drop in occupancy - the third consecutive month in which occupancy has declined in the capital – although, at 87.1%, occupancy remains high.
Hotels in the regions proved slightly less resilient, with rooms yield falling by 0.9%, from £43.37 to £42.99, as a 2.8% decline in room rate from £59.39 to £57.75 more than offset a 1.9% rise in occupancy from 73.0% to 74.4%.
Robert Barnard, partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF, commented: “These results demonstrate that the hotel sector is not immune to the challenges facing the economy as a whole, but is holding up well. Hotels across the country are operating in an unhelpful trading environment that will not improve anytime soon, so it is encouraging to see rooms yield growth in London and an occupancy rate that remains close to 90%."
“Regional hotels usually rely on the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market in the autumn, so this year’s figures suggest that the corporate market remains stubbornly subdued."
“This is not the first time that the sector has faced unfavourable economic headwinds. Hoteliers know that they have a fight on their hands and the results we have seen so far suggest they have the right strategies in place to win the battle.”
Ends
For further information, please contact: Andy Konieczko, 020 7065 0537, andrew.konieczko@uk.pkf.com
Preliminary data for October 2011
| Rooms department | 2011 | 2010 | % change |
| UK Regional hotels | 774 | 774 |  |
| Average daily room rate per occupied room | £57.75 | £59.39 | -2.8% |
| Average daily room occupancy | 74.4% | 73.0% | 1.9% |
| Average daily rooms yield per available room | £42.99 | £43.37 | -0.9% |
| Approximate number of rooms per day | 85,050 | 85,050 | |
| London hotels | 148 | 148 | |
| Average daily room rate per occupied room | £129.43 | £124.97 | 3.6% |
| Average daily room occupancy | 87.1% | 88.9% | -2.1% |
| Average daily rooms yield per available room | £112.70 | £111.14 | 1.4% |
| Approximate number of rooms per day | 34,000 | 33,900 | |
1. PKF (UK) LLP is a leading firm of accountants and business advisers with more than 1,500 partners and staff operating in 23 offices in the UK mainland firm, incorporating a wholly-owned financial planning company and associated offshore practices. The firm specialises in advising growing and entrepreneurial/owner-managed businesses, AIM and fully listed companies, and also has extensive experience in the public and not-for-profit sectors. Principal services include assurance and advisory; taxation; consultancy; corporate recovery and insolvency; corporate finance and forensic. The firm has particular expertise in advising sectors such as hotels and leisure; mining and resource; public sector; real estate and construction; professional practices; not-for-profit; and medical. The firm’s web site is www.pkf.co.uk
2. PKF (UK) LLP is a member firm of the PKF International Limited (PKFI) network of legally independent member firms. The PKFI member firms have around 2,200 partners and more than 21,000 staff in around 125 countries.
3. PKF (UK) LLP has been providing hotel consultancy services since the early 1970s and, in that time, has undertaken thousands of assignments throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa and further a field. Services include: market evaluation and financial feasibility studies; operational and profit improvement reviews; asset management; business valuations; international property services; corporate strategy and planning; litigation support. PKF’s web site features regular articles from the firm’s hotel consultancy services experts on industry topics – the address is www.pkf.co.uk/hotelcons
4. PKF (UK) LLP’s hotel trends surveys feature a broad range of hotels across the country although mainly in the 3 – 4 star categories and featuring rather more chain operated hotels than those operated independently. While there are a fair number of hotels in country and rural areas, there is a predominance of hotels in towns and cities. In London, supply featured is mainly in the 3 –5 star categories.
5. Final data for September 2011
| Rooms department | 2011 | 2010 | % change |
| UK Regional hotels | | | |
| Average daily room rate per occupied room | £65.58 | £65.61 | 0.0% |
| Average daily occupancy | 79.8% | 78.1% | 2.2% |
| Average daily rooms yield per available room | £52.35 | £51.28 | 2.1% |
| Approximate number of rooms per day | 96,050 | | |
| London hotels | | | |
| Average daily room rate per occupied room | £150.54 | £138.37 | £8.8% |
| Average daily room occupancy | 88.0% | 89.1% | -1.2% |
| Average daily rooms yield per available room | £132.48 | £123.29 | 7.5% |
| Approximate number of rooms per day | 40,850 | | |
6. Definition of the key terms used in the surveys table are given below:
7. Room occupancy: the ratio of total occupied rooms to total available rooms
8. Average achieved room rate (AARR): rooms revenue divided by the total number of guest rooms occupied during the year.
9. Rooms yield: room occupancy multiplied by the average achieved room rate (also known as RevPar).
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