Record-high spring occupancy rates for Birmingham hotels
Occupancy rates at Birmingham hotels hit 75 per cent between March and May 2016, boosted by events including Birmingham Pride and the English badminton championships.
The figures represent the best results for spring since current records began in 2003 and are up from 74 per cent in 2015 and 71 per cent in 2014, according to data from Marketing Birmingham’s Regional Observatory, which was provided by travel research company STR Global.
Hotel revenues also rose strongly during the season. The average room rate in spring 2016 was £68, an increase of £7 from March – May 2015, while revenue per available room (RevPAR) was £50, up from £45 in the same period last year.
Events contributing to the seasonal growth in Birmingham’s accommodation sector included the All England Badminton Championships at the Barclaycard Arena and Crufts at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in March.
The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) Congress and Manufacturing in Motion (MACH) helped April’s average occupancy to jump six per cent compared with the same month last year.
In May, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) Annual Congress (24-26 May) and Birmingham Pride (28-29 May) saw occupancy rate increases of 11 per cent and 22 per cent respectively compared with the same three- and two-day periods in 2015.
Emma Gray, Director of Marketing & Communications at Meet Birmingham, the city’s official business tourism programme, said:
With a 17 per cent growth in domestic tourists since 2010, and the largest increase of international guests outside London in the last two years, Birmingham is welcoming more visitors than ever. It’s therefore encouraging to see the city’s rising popularity being mirrored by strong figures within its hotel sector.
While a host of new brands have recently chosen to launch in Birmingham, there are a further 14 hotels – amounting to more than 2,000 bedrooms – in the pipeline, demonstrating the confidence that investors currently hold in Birmingham’s visitor economy and tourism offer.
In March, international hotel brand Park Regis launched its first European property in Birmingham following a £50 million renovation of the former Auchinleck House building on Broad Street. AC Hotel Birmingham – with 90 bedrooms – made its UK debut beside the city’s canals at the Mailbox in May.
James Thomlinson, General Manager, AC Hotel Birmingham, commented:
The launch of the AC Hotel Birmingham, following an extensive renovation by Valor Hospitality in conjunction with Marriott International, shows the continued confidence in the Birmingham hospitality sector.
Occupancy levels in Birmingham grew for 16 months in succession up to October 2015 when compared with the same period in the previous year. They peaked at 83 per cent during “Super September”, when the city hosted two Rugby World Cup fixtures and the redeveloped New Street station and Grand Central opened.
Birmingham posted its highest-ever occupancy rates in November 2014, with an 85 per cent average.
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