British hotels defy global slump

(01 June 2009)

British hotels are defying a substantial drop in business that is currently hitting the global hotel industry.

While figures from performance analysts STR Global show that April/May 2009 was a record low for accommodation around the globe, with 40% of the world's hotel rooms left vacant, British hotels performed far better than the average, with less than a third of rooms empty last month - just a 7% drop from this time last year.

Numbers seeking accommodation in Edinburgh have actually risen, with more than three-quarters of rooms in the Scottish capital full in May - an 8% rise on last year's figures. 

The tightening of holidaymakers' purse strings and large cut backs in corporate travel have been keenly felt in other parts of the world, however, with the America's reporting 43% of rooms as being empty in April - an 11% decline on last year.

European hotels had an average of 41% of unused rooms, as did the Asia Pacific region, both down 14%.

Hotels in Dusseldorf have been badly affected by the large cut backs in business travellers. The German city, whose hotels largely depend on corporate customers, has experienced declines of a third.