UK hotels bounce back as revpar rises

London hotels bounced back in a big way in the first three months of this year, according to the latest statistics from consultancy TRI Hospitality.

After the tough times of 2003, the HotStats survey reported revenue per available room (revpar) rising by 13.5% in the capital in the first three months of 2004.

Provincial hoteliers saw revpar up by 4.9% and, overall, UK revpar rose by 7.9%.

In London the surge in revpar was driven by a 4.8% increase in average room rates and by occupancy climbing 5.8 percentage points to 76.3%, said TRI.

March was particularly strong, with revpar in London climbing by 23.1% to £69.35, and occupancy breaking through the 80% barrier, reaching 80.5%, up from the 70.3% achieved in March last year.

In the provinces, March saw revpar climb by 7.7% to £44.55 compared with the same month a year earlier

Overall, UK hotels reported a 13% rise in revpar for the month.

"This is the clearest signal yet that the industry is now on a recovery path, ending the challenging trading environment of the last three years," said Jonathan Langston, TRI managing director.

"A double-digit increase in revpar for March is just the tonic to enable the industry to begin motoring again. We expect a robust recovery," he added.

by Nic Paton

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