Average UK hotel room rates fall 12% in 2016 compared with the previous year
The average UK hotel room rate fell almost 12% in 2016 compared with the previous year, according to the latest study by hotel reservation service HRS.
Andy Besent, managing director of HRS UK and Ireland, blamed the Brexit fallout for hitting prices, adding that the industry should brace itself for the “full impact of Brexit later this year”.
London suffered a 9% drop in rates from 2015, with rooms costing £150 a night last year. It remained the UK’s most expensive destination and second most expensive in Europe.
Across the rest of the UK, Edinburgh (£107) and Manchester (£102) were the second and third most expensive destinations in the UK.
Comparing London’s room rates with those in some of Europe’s major cities, the UK capital fell from its top spot in 2015, with Zurich named the most expensive destination last year – its rooms averaging £152 a night.
Istanbul saw the biggest rate drop from 2015 – nearly 18% – to £65 a night in 2016, a price matched only by Warsaw as the joint cheapest major European city in which to stay.
Besent told BBT: “The fallout of the Brexit vote from 2016 is likely to have had a knock-on effect on the average room rates of hotels in the UK. However, the hotel industry should be prepared further as we brace ourselves for what might be the full impact of Brexit later this year, and also the performance of the British pound against the euro.”