Business

Record summer for Northern Ireland hotels as room rates and occupancy lift

NI Hotels Federation Ciaran O’Neill with STR's Sarah Duignan
NI Hotels Federation Ciaran O’Neill with STR's Sarah Duignan NI Hotels Federation Ciaran O’Neill with STR's Sarah Duignan

HOTELS across the north enjoyed a record summer, with more rooms filled and rates up by 7.5 per cent, new figures show.

The latest Hotel Expansion Report from benchmarking company STR, unveiled at the Bishop's Gate Hotel in Derry, show occupancy growing at 2.8 per cent in Northern Ireland.

And Janice Gault, who heads up the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, said it was a conservative but solid performance for the sector after a slow start to the year.

One of the most significant aspects of 2016, she said, was the sheer volume of hotel expansion – currently over 20 projects are likely to open in the north by 2018, adding an additional 2,000 rooms to the hotel bed stock.

But with many having predicted much higher occupancy levels, some industry insiders have expressed concern around the reported level of expansion.

"Last year was very much one of two halves, with a sluggish first six months presenting a considerable challenge for the sector," Ms Gault said.

"The strong performance in the second half of the year effectively meant that 2016 came in only slightly ahead of 2015.

"When looking at figures in more detail, it is clear that Belfast had a poor first few months of trading and trailed significantly behind the record 2015 figures until June."

She said this had offset a record second summer, with the city trading at over 90 per cent.

Sarah Duignan, director of client relationships at STR, said Northern Ireland had seen a reasonable recovery in terms of rate and occupancy since 2012, but the market had been "sporadic at times".

"It is important to bear in mind that there haven't been any major hotel openings for nearly a decade and a significant influx of new hotels could shift the balance and result in changes to the market's performance levels," she said.

Despite the fluctuating fortunes, Ciaran O'Neill, president of the NI Hotels Federation, said the industry remained positive.

"It's important to note that hotels trade over a 365-day period and it is imperative we develop additional business for off-season periods and continue to try and grow rates," he said.

"The latter half of 2016 has certainly raised the bar and we hope this trend will continue into 2017."

The report comes shortly after another new industry report from Deloitte revealed that construction in Belfast was currently at its highest level since 2008.

Deloitte's inaugural Belfast crane survey documented more than 1,000 new hotel rooms in Belfast and stressed the renaissance in city development was being led by the tourism and education sectors.

Two new hotels were completed in 2016 with a further six hotel projects across the city currently under construction, set to deliver in excess of 1,000 new hotel rooms.