Hotel trading: February
Any signs of a recovery in the hotel market were swept away in February when performance took a nose dive, according to the latest report by accountants PKF.
The report, which covers 181 hotels in London, revealed a sharp decline in the capital, with a 4.3% drop in occupancy to 69.4% compared with the same month last year.
Average room rate fell 2% to £94.08 pushing rooms yield down by 6.2% to £65.29.
PKF's managing director, Melvin Gold, said that images of Army tanks at Heathrow airport broadcast worldwide did little to help the situation. "It was never going to be easy in that environment, and these latest figures confirm the difficulties," he said.
Performance across the 698 hotels surveyed in the provinces also took a hit, with the occupancy level down by 1.9% to 67.6% compared with 68.9% in February 2002. The average daily room rate dropped by 0.6% to £60.46, while rooms yield was down by 2.5% to £40.86.
| Regional hotels> | 2003 | 2002 | % change |
| Average daily rate per occupied room | £60.46 | £60.83 | -0.6 |
| Average daily occupancy | 67.6% | 68.9% | -1.9 |
| Average daily yield per available room | £40.86 | £41.91 | -2.5 |
| London hotels | 2003 | 2002 | % change |
| Average daily rate per occupied room | £94.08 | £96.04 | -2.0 |
| Average daily occupancy | 69.4% | 72.4% | -4.3 |
| Average daily yield per available room | £65.29 | £69.62 | -6.2 |
