Capital hotel rooms yield most cash

Edinburgh hotels are making more money per room than any-where else in the UK, as tourists shy away from foreign holidays and steer clear of London in the wake of the summer riots, a business survey has suggested.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Oct 2011, 01:03 BST

Rooms “yield” in Edinburgh for the month of August was £108.53, the highest anywhere in the UK including London and almost double the rates for Aberdeen and Glasgow, business adviser PKF said.

The company said the Scottish capital is benefiting from the so-called “staycation” trend and this summer’s riots in England, which have appeared to put tourists off visiting London.

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Aberdeen’s hotels also performed strongly, with rising oil prices pushing up the number of business visitors.

The figures are derived from the occupancy rate (the ratio of total occupied rooms to total available rooms) multiplied by average room rate (room revenue divided by the number of guest rooms occupied during the year). Occupancy in Scottish hotels during August was also higher than in any other part of the UK.

Alastair Rae, a partner in PKF’s real estate and hospitality sector, said: “London hotel occupancy suffered in the wake of the riots.

“These figures show that Scotland really did benefit from the staycation trend, with remarkable levels of occupancy and rooms yield.

“Aberdeen remains very buoyant, with the oil price continuing to contribute to the hospitality sector’s dynamic performance.

“It is clear that Edinburgh had an excellent month and was the top performer in terms of occupancy during August.”

He added that there were “signs that the sector is returning to pre-recession form” but stressed a need for caution as recent weeks have seen a downward trend in the economy.

Related topics:LondonEdinburghAberdeenGlasgowEngland