Find out your hotel occupancy rates compare in our latest 2018 report?

Our new hospitality occupancy benchmarking report for hotels based in the North of England and Scotland has recently been released.

Our report focuses on the trends in six distinct regions across the North, Scotland, Carlisle, The Lake District, The North East, Leeds & Bradford and Harrogate & York. This allows you to focus on regional trends applicable to your business alongside wider movements affecting the industry as a whole. As our report makes clear, the UK hospitality industry continues to face a time of uncertainty, but also of great opportunity.

The current political and economic outlook for the UK is in a state of flux, fuelled by a lack of clarity on the impact Brexit will have. This background of uncertainty means the pound remains weak, which presents a great opportunity for the hospitality industry. A weak pound makes inbound and domestic tourism increasingly attractive. The UK remains one of the worlds most visited countries, and the hospitality industry needs to focus on reaping the benefits of the current situation.

However the opportunities arising are balanced by various risks. One is the risk of inflation. The weak pound is causing food and commodity prices to rise. Energy costs are also increasing. UK employment costs continue to escalate due to the national minimum living wage, and the knock on effect to supervisor and management salaries. This has a direct impact to the hospitality industry but also further drives inflation.

Employment issues

All these factors have already had a significant impact on margin. Therefore the biggest challenge facing the industry is how to grow revenue ahead of these cost base increases. Fortunately there are real opportunities to do this. To capitalise on these opportunities it is imperative that the hospitality industry in the North of England and Scotland works smarter, focusing on successful strategies to provide a world class quality offering.