Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Glasgow Faring Fair?

According to business consultants Deloitte, Glasgow hotels are apparently faring better through the recession than those in other British cities, with Edinburgh not far behind with both heading the stats for occupancy and earnings from their hotels, according to analysis by Deloitte business consultancy.
The UK figure showed a fall of more than 11% in the first six moths against last year but Glasgow saw only a 1.6% fall, and Edinburgh only 4.5% down. Glasgow hotels achieved 72% occupancy with the average room rate dropping by less than 1%.

Marvin Rust, hospitality managing partner at Deloitte, said that business "could be buoyed by strong domestic demand for tourism this summer as more Britons holiday throughout the UK".
He said British hotel business had held up "exceptionally well" in the global economic downturn, down by 11.1%, especially when compared to other countries across Europe, some of which were seeing RevPAR drop by 40%.

The results aren't overly surprising perhaps given the currency exchange rates and even the recent weather but any idea that this level of success is here to stay is a dangerous proposition. There are many who would suggest that what happens post summer will give a greater indication of the real strength of Scotland's hospitality sector. Working on maintaining shoulder and off season business will be critical for the industry as a whole.

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