Birmingham serviced apartments perform best in UK
Serviced apartments in Birmingham achieved occupancy of 83.1% for the first quarter of 2015, making it the best performance for the sector in the UK.
A strong corporate market paired with a lack of supply was credited with the city's success, which included a 26.8% year-on-year increase, by the Association of Serviced Apartments (ASAP). Liverpool also turned in a strong performance with occupancy of 77.9%, up 11.7% on the first quarter in 2014.
Thomas Emanuel of STR Global, which compiles the monthly occupancy survey, commented: "The UK as a whole (excluding London) performed well achieving occupancy of 78.2%, representing a strong 7.6% increase on 2014 thanks to the general improvement in the economy, coupled with flat supply. The average daily rate of £83.13 represented a small 1.4% increase on 2014.
"By contrast the occupancy level for serviced apartments in London dropped marginally by -2.0% to 77.8% for the first quarter, purely down to an increase in supply. Demand is still showing positive growth, as are rates, but the supply is impacting occupancy.
"However the sector commanded a very strong average daily rate, achieving £160.55 which represents a 7.7% increase on 2014 (compared to the hotel sector which achieved an average daily rate (ADR) of £127.96)."
James Foice, managing director of ASAP, added: "It is very encouraging that, despite the increase in supply particularly in London, demand is strong with the consumer clearly continuing to see the many advantages of using serviced apartments in particular appreciating the greater flexibility, more space and the home from home experience.
"The ADR performance is very positive and we remain optimistic that the rest of the year will be another record breaking year for the sector across the UK.'