Room rates at Liverpool hotels hit a record level during April with bookings now close to pre-pandemic levels. Tony McDonough reports
Nightly room rates at hotels in Liverpool in April exceeded £100 for the first time ever during April, new figures show.
And room bookings in February, March and April hit around 460,000. This is just 20,000 short of the same three months in 2019 when there were around 480,000 rooms booked across the city centre.
This latest data from Marketing Liverpool shows the city centre’s visitor economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Liverpool BID Company, city centre footfall in March retained to pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
Hotel figures for April were boosted by the return of the Grand National meeting at Aintree and Liverpool FC’s thrilling end-of-season run-in. May is expected to be another bumper month. Hotel booking levels during the weekend of the Champions League final are said to be at “Grand National levels”.
Chris Brown, director of Liverpool city region tourism agency, Marketing Liverpool, said “This is fantastic news and a really positive sign of the city’s bounce back.
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“Liverpool FC’s amazing season in all competitions culminating with the fantastic parade at the weekend and the return of the Aintree Festival are obvious highlights. And this new data is another tangible sign of the overall appeal of the city.
“It’s a real catalyst for the summer season ahead, but we recognise the squeeze on consumers. We will be working with local and national partners to maintain the momentum of our recovery and keep the profile and appeal of the city high for national and international visitors.”
According to Liverpool BID Company, more than 1.3m people came into the city centre in the seven days from Monday, March 7. That was up 0.9% on average 2019 levels and, significantly, there was no public or school holiday that week to inflate the numbers.
Cllr Harry Doyle, Cabinet Member for Culture and Visitor Economy, added: “The city’s visitor economy was very badly affected by the pandemic. It’s really encouraging to see these very positive results for our hoteliers.
“Events such as this weekend’s parade demonstrate why the city has a reputation for being one of the most exciting and vibrant cities in the UK.”