Business

Belfast named as ‘rising star’ for hotel investment in 2018

The Titanic Hotel, which opened in Belfast at the end of 2017
The Titanic Hotel, which opened in Belfast at the end of 2017 The Titanic Hotel, which opened in Belfast at the end of 2017

BELFAST, which will this year see at least five major hotels swing open their doors, has been named the ‘rising star’ for hotel investment in the UK.

The city has moved up 16 places to third overall (behind Edinburgh and Bath) in Colliers International’s latest annual UK Hotels Market Index, an analysis of 34 locations ranked to determine the ‘hot spots’ for hotel development and acquisition.

Experts at Colliers attribute the significant rise to the city’s robust four-year RevPar (revenue per available room) growth, together with relatively low land site prices.

Belfast took the top spot for RevPar growth, showing a 12.6 per cent increase in compound average annual growth over the past four years.

It also came out on top when it comes to cost of development, which is calculated by combining the scores for land cost, build cost, 2017 occupancy and 2017 average daily rate (ADR).

Marc Finney, head of hotels & resorts consulting at Colliers International, said: “This data reveals the ever-changing nature of the UK hotels market. Cities such as Belfast have really upped their game in the last year to make it into the top five, despite failing to feature in the top 10 last year.

"This is a general market index and site-specific factors do also come in to play, but our report provides a useful benchmark for investors during the decision-making process and reveals a number of markets which offer good opportunities but which may not have featured on some investor’s target lists previously.”

The research also shows that Belfast ranked fifth for occupancy rates in 2017 at 81.6 percent, 21 percent higher than in 2016.

It also featured in fifth place in terms of active development pipeline, with 1,352 new rooms expected to enter the market over the next two years.

Jonathan Millar, managing director of Colliers International in Belfast, said: “The strong performance of the city as a tourist destination over the past number of years has acted as a catalyst in delivering significant volumes of new hotel rooms to the market across five developments which are either now open or due to open in 2018.

"They include the Marriott AC at City Quays, the Grand Central at Bedford Street, Hampton by Hilton at Hope Street, the Maldron Hotel at Brunswick Street, and the Titanic Hotel.

"The mix of established global brands including Northern Ireland’s first Marriott alongside a strong indigenous offer is a welcome addition to the city.”

The top 10 UK hot spots for hotel investment and development in 2018 are:

1 Edinburgh

2 Bath

3 Belfast

4 Cambridge

5 Bristol

6 Cardiff

7 Plymouth

8 London

9 Oxford

10 Glasgow