Shadow of WTC holds back UK recovery

The UK hotel industry is still finding it hard to shake off the effects of 11 September, according to the latest figures from consultant TRI Hospitality.

TRI's HotStats survey also reveals that the UK's provincial hotels, which until recently appeared to have avoided the worst effects of 11 September, are now facing a fall in demand.

Occupancy at provincial hotels fell by three percentage points to 71.1% in May, compared with the same period last year. Room rate was down by 0.3% to £64.16, while revenue per available room (revpar) fell by 4.4% to £45.62.

London hotels continue to show declines in room rates and occupancy. In May, room rates fell by 9.8% to £87.08, compared with £96.54 in May 2001. Occupancy fell by 2.6 percentage points to 75%, and revpar dipped by almost 13% to £65.34, against £74.98 in May 2001.

For the UK overall, occupancy rates at the 393 chain-operated hotels surveyed fell by 2.9% percentage points to 72.1%, while room rates fell by 3.7% to £70.36 and revpar fell by 7.4% to £50.75.

In the first five months of the year occupancy at the nation's hotels fell by 1.4 percentage points to 69.1%. Room rate was down by 4.3% to £68.52, and revpar was down by 6.2% to £47.32.