Birmingham records its highest hotel occupancy rates in four years

Hotel occupancy in Birmingham

Has experienced an increase in the last six months of 2011, according to recently released LJ Forecaster data.

November crowned a highly successful six months, reaching 74% during November 2011 – the highest rate since October 2007 - with average hotel occupancy for July to December 2011 reaching 64%, 2% higher than the same period during the previous year.

Ian Taylor, Commercial Director at Marketing Birmingham, said:

These are positive results in what continues to be a challenging time for hoteliers. Consumers on a tight budget are enjoying city breaks in the UK rather than travelling overseas and Birmingham has taken full advantage of this. Events taking place during November – such as the opening of the Frankfurt Christmas Market, a number of high-profile music concerts, and the arrival of early Christmas shoppers led to a highly successful November for Birmingham’s hotels, with occupancy rates on Saturdays reaching 92%. 

With exciting events such as the Diamond Jubilee and Olympic Games taking place in 2012, as well as a whole host of major sporting events, we expect this summer to be equally successful for hotels in Birmingham. A further 27 hotels are currently in the pipeline, enabling the city to provide additional bed spaces to the 30,000 already available for visitors.”

Hotels in the city centre have performed particularly well, with some 80% of hotel rooms occupied in November. The Frankfurt Christmas Market, which opened on 16th November last year, played a key role in keeping hotel occupancy level at a higher rate – attracting 3.1 million visitors in 2011.

Jane Schofield is Managing Director of Birmingham-based Hotel La Tour, which is due to open next month. She added:

This news is particularly positive as we near opening at the end of March. Location is key to us - Birmingham has an enviable location in the centre of the UK with great accessibility. It's easy for people to get to whether they're staying for leisure or business. So far, response for conference and training facilities has been excellent and we have already secured £500,000 worth of advanced conference bookings.

The hotels’ success in November follows a 71% hotel occupancy rate in September for Birmingham – the highest September for four years – following the Liberal Democrats’ party conference in the city.