First glimmers of hope for hotel recovery, says analyst firm
The hotel industry is beginning to see the first signs of recovery with figures for August revealing a slowdown in market decline, according to analyst firm MKG Hospitality.
Occupancy rate in August reached nearly 72%, MKG's figures reveal. Although this still represents a decrease of 4.7 percentage points compared to August 2008, the decline was less significant compared to year-on-year comparisons at the beginning of 2009.
Meanwhile, the rate of decline in average room rate and revenue per available room (revpar) also stabilised, reaching £74.70 and £53.70, respectively.
The major cities recorded the most promising occupancy rate performances, with London (82.4%), Cardiff (68.8%) and Manchester (70.8%) all posting lower decreases in August than in previous months.
Vanguelis Panayotis, director of development at MKG Hospitality, said: "These performance indicators have a long way to go before suggesting a recovery, but they are indeed a positive sign.
"The next few months however will be crucial in determining if the hotel cycle is spinning in the right direction."
Michael Poynter, senior vice president and managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Wyndham Hotel Group, added: "While we have experienced declines over the past year, much like the rest of the industry, we're finally beginning to see positive signs of recovery.
"Looking to the years ahead, hotel occupancy will continue to recover, however it will be some time before we reach previous levels."
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By Daniel Thomas
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