STR Reports UK Hotel Industry Performance for July 2013

According to data from STR Global, the United Kingdom hotel industry reported positive results for hotel demand year-to-date July 2013, despite ADR decreasing over the same time period.

In year-on-year comparisons, U.K. hotel occupancy during the month of July grew by 6.4% to 82.3%, ADR decreased 6.2% to £83.40 and RevPAR remained stable at £68.61, with only a 0.1% decrease.

In July, hotels in Regional U.K., which consists of the areas outside of London, experienced a 5.6% rise in occupancy to 80.7%, a 0.3% decrease in ADR to £62.44, and RevPAR grew 5.3% to £50.41.

London hotels during July saw an increase of 8.9% in occupancy to 87.7%, a 15.2% decrease in ADR to £143.13, and RevPAR dropped 7.6% to £125.55.

“London’s ADR decrease in July can be attributed to the shift of Ramadan and the absence of major events such as the Farnborough Airshow,” said Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global. “While the capital faced losses in July, it is good to see markets like Edinburgh coming back strong, similar to other Scottish markets. Edinburgh posted year-on-year RevPAR growth of 26.5% in July.”

During the first seven months of 2013, total U.K. has seen a 3.7% increase in occupancy to 73.6%, while ADR decreased 1.1% to £79.21, and RevPAR rose 2.5% to £58.28.

Year-to-date through July, London experienced a 4.5% increase in supply, but that was offset by a 7.0% increase in demand. Demand in the provinces is up 6.1%, and with limited supply increase of 2.0%, ADR remains flat.