Thames Valley: Region’s hotels outperform London

Hotels in the Thames Valley recorded a stellar 2014, outperforming their London counterparts in the race for revenue growth, according to Hotel Britain 2015 – the latest annual report by business advisory and accountancy firm BDO LLP.

Hotels in Reading, Maidenhead and Oxford all witnessed rooms yield – otherwise known as revenue per available room – increase by 5.5%, 2.4% and 2.2% respectively on last year’s performance.  By comparison, London hotels experienced a modest 0.7% increase in rooms yield.

All three cities also recorded an increase in the average price paid per room.  Maidenhead prices rose to £82.82 (up 4.2% on the previous year); in Oxford they were up 5.2% to £62.13 and in Reading £59.15 (up 8%).

The BDO report describes how the UKCCC meeting in Oxford late last year, as well as the SMA 2014 would have played a key part in boosting rates.  Similarly Reading played host to the Roman Archaeology Conference in March 2014.

Strong demand pushed overall UK regional hotels’ occupancy to 75.1% – the first time it has surpassed 75% for over 10 years.  With regard to occupancy levels, Oxford was the best-performing city in the Thames Valley, operating at 78.9%.

Simon Brooker, partner and head of BDO LLP in the Thames Valley, said: “For the first time in 14 years, regional hotels have outclassed their London counterparts and the Thames Valley has been a key player in that success story.

“Provided that consumer and business confidence continues on this upward trajectory, we can be optimistic about hotel performance for the rest of the year.”