Expedia data reveals UK hotels enjoyed a sizzling start to the summer

Expedia data reveals UK hotels enjoyed a sizzling start to the summer

London remains number one destination for global travellers Continue reading

UK hoteliers are seeing significant increase in demand during the early part of the summer, according to new figures from Expedia.

The global OTA said the upturn follows a positive start to the year thanks to a significant rise in hotel demand by both domestic and international visitors.

Second-quarter data to the end of June shows demand for UK hotels increased, with a number of cities and regions across the country seeing strong year-on-year growth.

EMEA figures show London remains the number one destination for global travellers who booked on Expedia sites operated by Expedia.

Regionally, Essex and Chester saw the highest increase in demand, each with a 35% rise year on year, whilst East Anglia, Cambridge and North Wales also experienced a substantial spike, each growing 30% year on year.

Demand in Scotland and Wales overall also increased for the quarter, compared with the same period last year.

Expedia attributed growth to the continuing popularity of staycations, with significantly more demand for UK hotels coming from domestic travellers.

The data showed that over 50% of demand for UK hotels during the period came from UK-based guests.

However, in addition to the increase in UK-based demand, hoteliers have continued to see positive growth from international travellers.

Demand remains on the rise in traditionally strong visitor markets such as the US (almost 50% up year on year) and Australia (over 45% up year on year).

Demand was further fuelled by visitors from several fast-growing markets such as Argentina, China and Ireland who all featured triple digit year on year increases.

Expedia reported package demand to the UK also grew strongly prompting a rise in average daily rates (ADR) for combination bookings as well as typically a longer booking window and length of stay.

Glasgow saw an increase of 20% year on year for package demand, Manchester package demand grew by 15% year on year while Aberdeen grew by over 10% year on year.

Irene Roberts, director of market management, UK and Ireland, said: “Our second quarter data for 2018 shows strong growth in demand across many areas of the UK.

“We have been working with our hotel partners to continue to increase demand from both domestic guests and key international domains, especially those from fast-growing markets.

“It has been a really positive start to the summer for UK hotels, with those across a number of UK regional cities and coastal destinations enjoying impressive growth compared to the same period last year. Hopefully this positive trend will continue into the second half of the year.”

Expedia Group top destinations in Q2 2018 across the EMEA region:

1             London
2             Paris, France
3             Rome, Italy
4             Amsterdam, Netherlands
5             Barcelona, Spain
6             Berlin, Germany
7             Istanbul, Turkey
8             Dubai, United Arab Emirates
9             Madrid, Spain
10           Mallorca Island, Spain