Staycations boost hotel numbers

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Scotland's hotels performed better than the rest of the UK with a 5.3% rise in occupancy in July, according to the accountants PKF.

The rest of the UK saw a drop of 4% in the same month.

Both Edinburgh and Glasgow had increases in occupancy of 7.7% and 5.1% respectively, although in Aberdeen the figure fell by 6.1%.

Room revenue in Scotland also increased by 8.6% while across the UK it fell by 11.9%.

In Glasgow the revenue or room yield rose by 17% which was the highest of any city outside London.

Alistair Rae, a partner in the Real Estate and Hospitality sector at PKF, said it had been a good summer so far for Scottish hotels.

He said: "Increases in both occupancy and rooms yield indicate that hoteliers are not having to reduce prices to maintain numbers which is a positive sign that there is a relatively strong demand."

'Staycationers'

This latest report on the Scottish hotel industry indicated it had benefited from holidaymakers from within the UK who decided to stay at home this summer.

PKF said the exchange rates for the euro also attracted visitors from overseas.

The accountants said that the lower oil price and less offshore activity was to blame for a fall in occupancy in Aberdeen's hotels.

They also sounded a note of caution for the autumn for Edinburgh and Glasgow saying that there could be problems ahead for the cities if business tourism did not pick up.