Hotel occupancy rises in Manchester, falls in Liverpool

Hotels in cities across the North West experienced contrasting results in performance during May, according to new figures released by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services.

Research by PKF showed Manchester demonstrated a particularly strong performance, with rooms yield in the city rising by 7.0% from £57.05 in May 2010 to £61.05 this year.

PKF said this was driven primarily by a 4.6% increase in room rate to £76.99 alongside a 2.3% rise in occupancy to 79.3%.

The report said Chester hoteliers also had a good month in May, despite a 1.8% fall in occupancy to 70.5%. Figures showed room rate in Chester increased by 6.2% from £65.25 in 2010 to £69.29 in 2011. PKF said this resulted in a rooms yield of £48.85, a 4.6% improvement on the previous year's results.

Unlike Manchester and Chester, PKF said Liverpool and Blackpool struggled to match the previous year's results.

In the seaside town of Blackpool, room rate increased 0.9% in May 2011 to £61.23, while occupancy fell 3.5% from 67.5% to 65.1%, resulting in an overall rooms yield of £39.86, a drop of 2.6% when compared to the same time last year.

PKF said a similar picture was painted in Liverpool, with rooms yield in the city falling by 6.4% from £50.05 to £46.86, following a 0.9% decline in occupancy to 69.6% and a 5.5% drop in room rate to £67.33.

Days Inn Liverpool is one of the latest hotels to open in the city, located in former offices in James Street, which is operated by Sanguine Hospitality.

Paris D'Allessandro, general manager at Days Inn Liverpool, said: "The summer months are challenging times for hoteliers and dropping rates is one way to be more competitive.

"We are operating at a rate of more than 20% above forecast occupancy and we are very positive about the coming months. That said, there is no room for complacency and you must offer a quality product to be able to compete and attract guests, which is something we are benefitting from."

Jane Jackson, partner at PKF, added: "This is the most positive set of results so far this year for the region. That said it is evident that the market is still fragile and we are a long way off a full recovery. Significant challenges remain within the region's hotels, which are heavily reliant on the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) and corporate markets. Skilful revenue management will be required to further nurture the recovery of the local hotel market."

The following table shows final data from PKF Hotel Consultancy Services for May 2011: