Bath shows strongest revpar growth
Bath has recorded the highest increase in revenue per available room (revpar) out of 12 UK cities reviewed in the Hotel Bulletin: Q1 2015.
Produced by AlixPartners, AM:PM and HVS, the report shows the revpar growth in Bath for the first three months of the year was 20%.
The popular tourist city receives 30 million overseas visitors per year and is set to benefit substantially from the relaxation of visa requirements for Chinese tour operators and business travellers. Bath expects to achieve a 40% increase in Chinese tourists this year.
Outside London, revpar across the 11 featured cities grew by an average of 7%. While this is lower than the 19% average revpar growth in the last two quarters, it is well above GDP growth.
Aberdeen was the only other city reviewed to record a revpar decline in the first quarter, down 10% compared to Q1 2014. Since the second quarter of 2013, the number of bedrooms in the city has increased by 14% in response to unprecedented growth in demand fuelled by the oil boom.
However, with the fall in the price of oil from highs of $110 per barrel in April 2014 to $45 per barrel at its lowest in January, it would appear that the earlier strong revpar figures in the city have been closely linked with the oil price.
It is hoped that Aberdeen's hotel market is less dependent on the oil and gas industry than it was 10 years ago, with the recent growth in golf and conference business. There are now 50 courses in and around the city, while conference business will be boosted with the approval in March of the £133m Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
If the oil price continues to decline in the long-term, the 997 bedrooms in the city which are currently in the pipeline will only add to the imbalance between supply and demand.
Alongside, London, Bath and Aberdeen, the other cities reviewed in the report were Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and Newcastle.