London hotels boosted revenue per available room (revpar) by 4.4% in the month of August 2008, according to preliminary figures from business advisors PKF.
This growth stemmed from a 5.7% hike in average daily room rate as occupancy dipped slightly by 1.3%.
The situation was more mixed in the regions, where overall revpar increased by just 0.2%. A 1.9% fall in room rate barely counteracted a 2% fall in occupancy.
Strong performances were evident in Cardiff, where occupancy and room rate rose by 4.8% and 6.7% respectively to boost revpar to £54.69, up from £48.88 in August 2007.
Liverpool’s current status as European Capital of Culture continued to pay dividends for the city, which increased revpar by 16%.
“We are now well over half way through what can only be described, from an economic perspective, as a turbulent year compounded by the events of black Monday, 15 September 2008," commented Robert Barnard, partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF.
“Looking solely at the UK’s hotel figures for 2008, however, you would be for forgiven for forgetting about the turmoil as hoteliers across the country have so far experienced a steady year.
"It is true that there have been some dips in occupancy over the last eight months, but these have been by no means drastic. 2007 was also a very strong year and therefore some losses in 2008 were to be expected."
The figures are compiled monthly by PKF.
See also PKF Hotel Britain 2007 >>
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| AUGUST 2008 (preliminary figures) | LONDON | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 83.2% | 84.3% | -1.1 points | | Average room rate | £133.68 | £126.42 | +5.7% | | Revpar | £111.22 | £106.57 | +4.4% |
| REGIONS | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 72.4% | 73.9% | -1.5 points | | Average room rate | £72.84 | £71.49 | +1.9% | | Revpar | £52.75 | £52.85 | +0.2% | |
| JULY 2008 | LONDON | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 88.2% | 86.4% | +1.8 points | | Average room rate | £161.64 | £139.86 | +15.6% | | Revpar | £142.53 | £120.97 | +17.8% |
| REGIONS | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 76.3% | 77.4% | -1.1 points | | Average room rate | £76.82 | £74.94 | +2.5% | | Revpar | £58.64 | £58.05 | -1% | |
| JUNE 2008 | LONDON | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 84.8% | 87.3% | -2.5 points | | Average room rate | £154 | £143.81 | +7.1% | | Revpar | £130.56 | £125.58 | +4% |
| REGIONS | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 74.9% | 76.9% | -2 points | | Average room rate | £78.77 | £77.27 | +1.9 | | Revpar | £58.99 | £59.47 | -0.8% | |
| MAY 2008 | LONDON | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 81.1% | 80.3% | +0.8 points | | Average room rate | £138.93 | £133.92 | +3.7% | | Revpar | £112.72 | £107.59 | +4.8% |
| REGIONS | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 73.3% | 73.5% | -0.2 points | | Average room rate | £76.08 | £74.46 | +2.2% | | Revpar | £55.78 | £54.77 | +1.8% | |
| APRIL 2008 | LONDON | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 82.5% | 79.3% | +3.2 points | | Average room rate | £133.64 | £120.99 | +10.5% | | Revpar | £110.19 | £96.01 | +14.8% |
| REGIONS | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 73.7% | 68.1% | +5.6 points | | Average room rate | £73.90 | £70.38 | +5% | | Revpar | £54.44 | £47.97 | +13.5% | |
| MARCH 2008 | LONDON | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 79.5% | 81.2% | -1.7 points | | Average room rate | £123.20 | £122.64 | +0.5% | | Revpar | £97.91 | £99.67 | -1.8% |
| REGIONS | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 67.3% | 71.1% | -3.8 points | | Average room rate | £71.88 | £72.20 | -0.4% | | Revpar | £48.35 | £51.35 | -5.8% | |
| FEBRUARY 2008 | LONDON | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 78.4% | 77.6% | +0.8 points | | Average room rate | £128.98 | £122.08 | +5.7% | | Revpar | £101.06 | £94.77 | +6.6% |
| REGIONS | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 69% | 69.4% | -0.4 points | | Average room rate | £72.54 | £70.50 | +2.9% | | Revpar | £50.02 | £48.96 | +2.2% | |
| JANUARY 2008 | LONDON | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 71% | 71.9% | -0.9 points | | Average room rate | £124.23 | £118.21 | +5.1% | | Revpar | £88.15 | £85.07 | +3.6% |
| REGIONS | 2008 | 2007 | Movement | | Occupancy | 59.6% | 60.4% | -0.8 points | | Average room rate | £71.41 | £68.69 | +4% | | Revpar | £42.58 | £41.50 | +2.6% | |
| DECEMBER 2007 | LONDON | 2007 | 2006 | Movement | | Occupancy | 73.5% | 73.4% | +0.1 points | | Average room rate | £127.47 | £119.79 | +6.4% | | Revpar | £93.74 | £87.99 | +6.5% |
| REGIONS | 2007 | 2006 | Movement | | Occupancy | 63.2% | 63.2% | 0 points | | Average room rate | £70.33 | £68.13 | +3.2% | | Revpar | £44.43 | £43.06 | +3.2% | |
NOVEMBER 2007
| LONDON | 2007 | 2006 | Movement |
| Occupancy | 85.4% | 86.5% | -1.1 points |
| Average room rate | £143.45 | £13.36 | +6.8% |
| Revpar | £122.53 | £116.28 | +5.4% |
| REGIONS | 2007 | 2006 | Movement |
| Occupancy | 74.3% | 75.3% | -1 point |
| Average room rate | £74.56 | £72 | +3.6% |
| Revpar | £55.42 | £54.28 | +2.1% |
OCTOBER 2007
| LONDON | 2007 | 2006 | Movement |
| Occupancy | 87% | 82.8% | +4.2 points |
| Average room rate | £131.81 | £120.45 | +9.4% |
| Revpar | £114.65 | £99.84 | +14.8% |
| REGIONS | 2007 | 2006 | Movement |
| Occupancy | 77.8% | 77.4% | +0.4 points |
| Average room rate | £74.66 | £71.19 | +4.9% |
| Revpar | £58.05 | £55.13 | +5.3% |
SEPTEMBER 2007
| LONDON | 2007 | 2006 | Movement |
| Occupancy | 86.8% | 87% | -0.2 points |
| Average room rate | £136.58 | £126.92 | +7.6% |
| Revpar | £118.48 | £110.47 | +7.3% |
| REGIONS | 2007 | 2006 | Movement |
| Occupancy | 79.1% | 80.5% | -1.4 points |
| Average room rate | £75.76 | £72.58 | +4.4% |
| Revpar | £59.91 | £58.43 | +2.5% |
PKF's hotel survey spans a range of hotels across the country, although there are more chain-operated hotels than independents and more town and city hotels than country and rural properties. Most hotels fall into the three- to four-star brackets except in London, where they range from three to five stars.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
the ratio of total occupied rooms to total available rooms
Average room rate: rooms revenue divided by the total number of guest rooms occupied during the year
Revpar: room occupancy multiplied by the average achieved room rate
