A new study by property consultancy Colliers International reveals the city, which currently offers 8,205 rooms, will add an extra 1,170 rooms over the next two years. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool’s hotel boom is set to continue with a new report predicting a rise in the number of rooms of 14.3% over the next two years.
A few weeks ago a Liverpool City Council report revealed the number of hotel rooms in the city centre had almost doubled to 6,600 in the past 10 years – with more than 2m rooms sold in 2017.
Now a new study by property consultancy Colliers International reveals the city as a whole, which currently offers 8,205 rooms, will add an extra 1,170 rooms over the next two years.
Its research shows that Liverpool and Manchester were among the top six cities in the UK for projected hotel room growth along with London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast. Manchester will see another 2,073 rooms added to the existing 17,894.
A number of new hotels are planned or in the pipeline, including a 250-bed facility in the Knowledge Quarter and another on the waterfront close to Liverpool’s new cruise liner terminal.
Developer YPG plans luxury hotel for Liverpool One – click to read more
Julian Troup, head of UK hotels-agency and based at the Manchester office of Colliers, said the weak pound, the strengthening of global and eurozone economies and the increasing frequency of direct flights between Asia and Manchester had all contributed to the growth in the performance of the region’s hotel sector.
He explained: “Hotel sector performance in Liverpool and Manchester is expected to stay strong but there is a degree of caution regarding the extent of supply growth with potential future consequences for performance.
Liverpool could pilot a £1-per-night tourist tax – click to read more
“Brexit obviously adds an element of uncertainty to hotel market prospects although current market conditions do not show it having a negative impact. Manchester is one of the most visited cities in the UK while the visitor economy of Liverpool also continues to benefit from its ongoing renaissance.”
Overall, the UK Hotels Market Index revealed continued year on year growth for the sector in the UK, with RevPAR (revenue per available room) increasing by 3.8% – significantly ahead of GDP growth.