Deloitte: Manchester hotels enjoy rising revenue
Financial advisor Deloitte said hotels in Manchester saw revenue per available room rise 0.9% during the first half of 2010, to £47. Occupancy levels also increased to 70.2%, up 3.3% on the same period last year, while average room rates fell 2.3% to £67.
Paul Lupton, North West head of corporate finance at Deloitte, said: "Manchester has continued to build on its success in the first quarter of the year by increasing occupancy levels further as well as revenue per available room. In comparison to other key regional cities, Manchester boasts one of the highest RevPARs recorded across the UK with only Brighton achieving a higher RevPAR of £48. However, if you look at occupancy levels, cities such as Edinburgh, York, Newcastle and Glasgow have all outperformed Manchester during Q2, so there is still plenty of competition across the regions.
"With the latest Deloitte CFO Survey showing financial optimism among many Chief Financial Officers falling to a 12-month low and many seeing a growing risk of a 'double-dip' recession, it will be important for Manchester's hoteliers to continue to show resilience and not reverse all the good work that has been done so far this year."
Overall, Regional UK has seen a far more positive picture having achieved the second consecutive quarter of occupancy growth after two years of decline. The first half of 2010 saw a 4.2% rise in occupancy to 65.8% and although average room rates are yet to see growth, they are also improving, falling just 2.3% for the period to £66, which is just £2 short of the same period last year. As a result, revPAR for the first half of 2010 grew 1.7% to £43.
Lupton added: "Although the recent forecasts from STR Global predict a 5.3% rise in revPAR in Regional UK for 2010, it is still early days in the recovery cycle, and, with the regions more susceptible to national influences than the London market, the effects of fiscal tightening and government spending cuts remain hard to predict at this time."