SCOTLAND’s hotels outperformed the rest of the UK to achieve a fantastic year of growth in 2017 during which Edinburgh was the star performer, experts have said.
The findings of a report on the UK hotel market by BDO underline the vibrancy of the Scottish sector as the fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote and the popularity of staycations provide a big boost to trade.
The accountancy firm found Scotland lead the UK in terms on the key measure of growth in the average yield per room. This increased by 4.9 per cent to £56.7 from £54.03.
Yields increased by 2.9% across the UK outside London, to £50.69.
The average occupancy rate increased in Scotland but fell across the UK.
BDO said Edinburgh was the top regional performing city. It achieved the highest occupancy rate of any of the UK cities at 85.3%, up 1.8% on 2016.
Average yields in Edinburgh increased at a faster rate in than in any other UK city, rising by 10.2% to £74.16.
BDO noted Edinburgh benefits from strong leisure and corporate demand.
Occupancy in Glasgow increased by 0.1% to 83.2%.
Aberdeen suffered its fifth successive year of reduced occupancy, to 63.4% from 67.2% as the effects of the sharp fall in oil prices since 2014 weighed on the city.
“2017 proved to be a fantastic year of growth where Scotland outperformed the rest of the UK,” said Martin Gill, partner and head of BDO in Scotland. “Edinburgh was clearly the top performer and Glasgow had another positive year.”
Mr Gill said the Scottish hotel industry will hope to continue to benefit from the weak pound and trend for staycations.
“The inaugural European Championships multi-sport event in Glasgow this summer will undoubtedly drive a further increase in overall visitor numbers for 2018,” he noted.
The prospect of Brexit may pose challenges in terms of staffing while increases in payroll costs such as the National Minimum Wage could impact profits.
However, hoteliers appear keen to increase their exposure to Scottish cities. Some 1,036 additional rooms are expected to open in Glasgow over the next two years, along with 653 and 506 in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively.
Around 21,700 rooms will be added across the UK, including 8,185 in London.
The average occupancy rate in Scotland increased to 80.1% in 2017, from 80%.
The UK rate fell to 77.34% from 77.76%.
Yields increased in London by 2.3% to £126.42.
Noting strong levels of hotel deal activity in the UK, BDO said highlights outside London included the acquisition of a group of five three-star Scottish hotels from Portland Hotels for a reported £40m by Leonardo hotels. These included two in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow.
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