Capital of Culture Reels in the Tourists

By Alan Lodge

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Room rate Hotel

Liverpools status as the European Capital of Culture has led to the citys hotels recording a 15 per cent rise in yield from rooms booked in February. London also saw figures rise, but Cardiff failed to capitalise on the Six Nations rugby factor.

LIVERPOOL`S status as European Capital of Culture has led to the city`s hotels recording a 15 per cent rise in yield from rooms booked in February.

Figures released by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services for the month show a rise in rooms yield by 15.2 per cent from £50.15 in 2007 to £57.79 in 2008.

This was attributable to a 10.2 per cent increase in room rate and a 4.5 per cent increase in occupancy.

In order to make the most of its current fame, the city of Liverpool has organised various events every month.

February saw a Chinese New Year celebration plus a series of other exhibitions, events and concerts.

Growth in London continued to impress, with room rate rising by 5.8 per cent on 2007 from £123.42 to £130.61.

With occupancy remaining static at 77.7 per cent, the overall growth in rooms yield saw a rise from £95.92 last year to £101.45.

Cardiff recorded an overall 2.2 per cent drop year on year in rooms yield – from £50.23 in 2007 to £49.11 - despite the influx of rugby fans for the Six Nations.

Occupancy remained healthy, rising 3.8 per cent on last year, but room rate dropped by 5.8 per cent from £71.40 last year to £67.26.

The lower room rate and the Six Nations were probably why occupancy was high, but overall the low room rate meant rooms yield dropped.

Robert Barnard, partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF, said: "February was another steady month for UK hotels and so far, it seems there is no discouragement for UK hoteliers despite the turmoil in the financial markets since the credit crunch.

"It`s true that 2008 is likely to be slower than 2007, but this is due not just to the global economic conditions, but also the fact that UK hotels have experienced a healthy period of growth over the last couple of years which is now starting to stabilise.

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