UK hotels see a further year of impressive growth in 2017, says Expedia
The latest data from the Expedia group has revealed UK hoteliers experienced another year of encouraging growth in 2017, helped by a significant rise in hotel demand from international visitors to the UK.
The findings drawn from full-year 2017 data (January – December 2017) show that while the nation’s capital unsurprisingly remains the top destination for travellers, taking almost 40% of the total market share, several other UK destinations witnessed encouraging year-on-year growth.
Demand for London remained strong, up almost 20% when compared to the previous full year, while Surrey increased by almost 40%, and Scotland’s Highlands and Islands, Oxford and Yorkshire, all increased by around 35% year on year.
Regionally, other destinations that enjoyed healthy growth included Bristol, Birmingham and Chester.
The data shows it was travellers from Spain (up almost 150%), Brazil (+110%) and Argentina (+105%) that fuelled triple digit year-on-year growth from these markets, bolstered by strong demand from Ireland (+ 85%), Mexico (+85%), India (+70%) and Poland (+60%). Allied to this, UK hoteliers experienced another year of strong demand from the US (+40% year-on-year). It was tech-savvy travellers from Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland and Spain that fuelled impressive mobile growth of over 70%.
The data also reveals that the average daily rate (ADR) for hotel rooms in the UK rose overall, notably with travellers from India, Poland, Australia and Austria choosing to spend more on their hotel rooms. Travellers from UAE, India, Poland and China booked their stays with the shortest booking window (less than 25 days), while travellers from New Zealand and Australia (65 days) booked the farthest out, followed closely by Austria (63 days), Brazil (55 days), Germany (55 days) and Canada (53 days). These longer booking windows are beneficial to hoteliers, offering more opportunities to upsell consumers – both prior to check-in and on-property.
Krishan Kadodwala, Director Market Management, JET UK & Ireland, the Expedia group, said: “Overall our UK hotel partners enjoyed impressive growth across the board in 2017, which is hugely encouraging – the UK as a destination of choice is on the rise. Our data reveals that we are successfully working with our hotel partners to increase demand from key international markets where visitors are more likely to spend more on rooms and other services, as well as stay longer.”
“In 2017, hoteliers benefitted from a strong marketing campaign from VisitBritain, highlighting a range of events and activities across the nation which no doubt contributed towards a rise in visitors choosing to holiday in the UK. With two royal weddings set to take place this year, 2018 is certainly shaping up to be another good year for the UK market.”
Top UK destinations 2017 – according to the Expedia group
- London
- Edinburgh
- Manchester
- Birmingham
- East Midlands
- Glasgow
- Yorkshire
- Liverpool
- West Midlands
- Hampshire