Swindon hotel occupancy rose to 54.3 per cent in December, an increase of 0.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2009, despite the weather chaos across the region, according to the latest data released by PKF.
However, average room rates were down 4.1 per cent from £54.59 in 2009 to £52.36 in 2010 meaning that the overall impact on rooms yield was a drop of 4.0 per cent from £29.62 in 2009 to £28.43 in 2010.
Neil Dimes, partner in charge at the South West office of PKF said: “It seems the appalling weather that hit the country in December didn’t have the impact many would have expected in terms of occupancy and shows people were able to travel to and from Swindon hotels.
“This could be due to a number of factors such as business travellers deciding to stay overnight in town rather than risk the icy roads.
“It is worth noting however, that in order to maintain occupancy, managers had to drop average room rates resulting in lower rooms yield and could be an indication of them battling over those looking for a suitable room to stay.
“With the government’s spending cuts also taking hold the impact on the sector over the coming months will be interesting to see,” Mr Dimes said.
