UK hotels enjoy a post-Brexit boom

The British hotel industry is set for a record 2017 owing to a substantial increase in both domestic and international visitors planning holidays in the UK. 

According to a recent report conducted by Barclays*, 63 per cent of international tourists are more interested in holidaying in the UK compared to last year, with 31 per cent of those asked citing the weaker pound as a reason.

A fifth of the respondents said that television programmes such as The Crown, Netflix's big-budget drama that charts the early years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, have influenced their decision to consider a UK break, especially among Chinese (44 per cent) and US (26 per cent) visitors.

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It’s not just foreign visitors either – the UK ‘staycation’ is at an all-time high, with nearly a third of UK holidaymakers expecting to stay put for their time off, owing to the weaker pound, and less desire to travel to once popular family destinations which have suffered terrorist attacks.

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London tops the list of the most popular destinations to visit among international visitors (67 per cent), followed by Scotland at 44 per cent. The appeal of the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge is also noticeably higher for Chinese guests.

London, in fact, enjoyed a new record for its average daily hotel rates at £133.38 for the first quarter (up by 6.2 percent on last year for the same quarter), as reported by hotel data firm STR.

The Barclays report precedes another survey, conducted by the Hotel Booking Agents Association (HBAA), that reported 52 per cent of hotels, conference venues and booking agencies saying that Brexit was having a ‘noticeable impact’ on their business.

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The interest in British breaks comes at a time when the UK hotel’s scene is also booming. The Curtain and the UK’s first Nobu hotel are both opening in the popular London neighbourhood of Shoreditch, while classic hotels, such as the new Four Seasons Hotel Ten Trinity Square, are still thriving. Secondary cities are also experiencing a burst – Cambridge has just opened an exciting boutique hotel, the Tamburlaine, while plans are afoot to renovate the city’s landmark University Arms hotel.

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Those looking for interesting countryside breaks are also in luck due to a host of interesting openings: Lympstone Manor, Michael Caines’ new foodie hotel in Devon, is one of the most exciting country house hotel openings in decades; Another Place, a Georgian manor house hotel with an infinity pool overlooking Ullswater Lake comes in August; while Scotland’s premier luxury country bolthole, Gleneagles, will open under the new management of Ennismore (responsible for The Hoxton Hotel group) next month.

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*The Barclays Corporate Banking report, Destination UK: driving growth in the UK hospitality and leisure sector reveals the 2017 holiday and leisure preferences of almost 10,000 guests from the UK, continental Europe, the US, Middle East, Asia and Australia.