July a good month for hotels despite weather

The poor weather at the start of the summer season may be benefiting some hoteliers, according to the latest monthly figures from PKF Hotel Consultancy Services.

Areas affected by flooding pulled down the figures but overall, regional hotels had a good month in July, the research revealed.

The Edinburgh Festival boosted the figures, showing a 3.9% increase in rooms yield. There was also growth in the occupancy of airport hotels catering for those holidaying abroad.

Robert Barnard, partner for hotel consultancy services at PKF said "The UK's regional hotels had a good start for the summer although, ironically, this was due in part to the country's airport hotels as many made last-minute decisions to take a holiday abroad due to the dull weather across the UK."

UK regional hotels daily room occupancy went up from 77.5% last year to 78% in 2007. Occupancy in London went down from figures last year, dropping from 88.4% to 87% as corporate businesses started to dwindle.

Barnard said: "London had a slight downturn in occupancy and it will be interesting to see if this trend continues in August following the sharp falls on global stock markets, which could have a knock on effect for hoteliers if more business travellers decide to stay put."

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By Owen Hill

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