Edinburgh remains top UK location for hotel investment

Edinburgh is still the top location for hotel investment in the UK, with Belfast second and Liverpool third, thanks to strong performance and low building costs.

The Colliers International UK Hotels Market Index said that Edinburgh had consistently strong occupancy and average daily room rate levels in 2018, while revenue per available room (revpar) had grown for the past four years.

The UK Hotels Market Index analyses 34 locations across the UK. London remains the strongest performer in terms of revpar, but only places sixth due to the high cost of land.

Plymouth and Oxford had been strong performers in the past, but have since fallen out of the top 10. Oxford recorded strong revpar levels in 2018, but has dropped due to high land costs, while Plymouth saw a decline in revpar last year.

Marc Finney, head of hotels and resorts consulting at Colliers International, said: “Overall, the UK hotel sector is in rude health. Operating performance is holding up well in most UK markets and London continues to perform well.

“The UK hotel market adds about 10,000 new rooms each year and this has increased in pace recently, with almost 18,000 new rooms expected to open in 2019. This leaves hotels as a rare bright spot in a property market that is facing challenges in other sectors.”

The top 10 UK spots for hotel investment and development are:
1 Edinburgh
2 Belfast
3 Liverpool
4 Chester
5 Bath
6 London
7 Glasgow
8 Brighton
9 Cambridge
10 Leeds.