Hotel booking data suggests the UK staycation boom has already begun, with an all-time high of bookings following the roadmap reopening announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week, with bookings showing a 307% year-on-year increase.
Using data exclusively for UK properties, Profitroom, a provider of hotel marketing services, which has access to booking data from more than 3,500 leisure hotels and resorts around the world, the analysis was able to determine a huge increase in bookings. Comparing statistics from UK hotel bookings on 22nd February 2020 (before the UK coronavirus crisis started), the brand reported a 307% increase – a record high for hotel bookings.
Furthermore, room night bookings (the number of nights booked per stay) were up by 605%, indicating guests are booking longer stays as they look to get away.
Additional data showing an average booking window of 111 days (the time taken from the point of booking to arrival), indicates a strong domestic summer season with business almost booming again overnight.
In a further boost to hoteliers’ bottom lines, direct bookings also increased by 685% – meaning guests are going directly to the hotel to make a reservation, as opposed to booking via Online Travel Agents. This means hotels and resorts will avoid high commission fees; something that should help them in their recovery.
Samantha Williams, UK Market Owner at Profitroom, commenting on the data, said: “Whilst we were expecting a surge in bookings this has gone way beyond our expectations – and it’s fabulous news for hotels. After months of reduced revenues, this will be a hugely welcome boost, with advance bookings helping to inject vital revenue that should, hopefully, enable hotels to make it through to the reopening date.”
She added: “Of course hotels still face a very challenging few weeks ahead of May 17th, but these early signs show enormous promise, and we hope that the crisis for hotels now shows signs of coming to an end. With direct bookings also increasing (a trend we’ve seen since the start of the crisis), hotels will also be able to enjoy more revenue per booking – a development which will be hugely beneficial as they look to recover from these challenging months.”
