The combination of three Bank Holidays, warm weather and tourist interest in the royal wedding, resulted in Swindon hotels enjoying a good April.
Figures released by the South West office of PKF Accountants & business advisers shows that the extended holidays and better than expected weather, helped Swindon hoteliers and owners improve their performance in comparison to the same period last year.
The April figures show that occupancy was up 5.2% from 59.3% in 2010 to 62.4% in 2011.
The news isn’t all good however with average room rates dropping 1.3% down from £51.00 in 2010 to £50.33 in 2011. The impact on rooms yield was a rise of 3.8% from £30.24 in 2010 to £31.41 in 2011.
Neil Dimes, partner in charge at the South West office of PKF said that favourable holiday and weather factors plus a marked increase in high street spending during the month had yielded mixed results for the hotel sector.
He said: “These figures suggest that both business and private customers will react favourably to positive factors such as extended holidays and good weather. But consumers are still proving reluctant to part with their cash and we anticipate the hotel sector will remain challenging relying on the meetings, incentive, conference and exhibitions sector (MICE).”
