Exclusive: Liverpool city centre hotels see record bookings in the first half of 2025, smashing through the 1m barrier for the first time. Tony McDonough reports
Room bookings in Liverpool city centre hotels break through the 1m barrier in the first half of 2025 for the first time.
Figures from Liverpool City Council show that from January to the end of June there were just a little over 1m rooms booked. This compares to around 982,000 for the same period in 2024.
Liverpool last came closest to the 1m mark for the first half of the year back in 2018 when hotels recorded more than 999,000 bookings. The sector suffered during the pandemic but the city’s visitor economy has come roaring back and is now worth more than £6bn a year.
This year also saw the busiest May on record with around 190,000 bookings. Liverpool FC’s return to the Champions League in the 2024/25 season was one of the reasons for the surge.
In the early 2000s there were around just 2,000 hotel beds in the city centre. Since then the sector has grown significantly and there are now about 10,000 hotel beds with more new hotels in the pipeline.
Established in 2022 and backed and funded by the city’s hoteliers and accommodation providers, the Accommodation BID (ABID) was introduced to support bringing major events and conferences to the city. It is run by Liverpool BID Company.
In April LBN revealed that in a vote organised by the ABID, a majority of the 83 accommodation providers in the city centre gave their blessing to a £2 a night charge on people staying overnight.
Introduced in June, it is estimated the levy will bring in £9.2m over two years, of which £6.7m will go towards supporting the city’s visitor economy through a subvention fund. This fund provides financial support to major conferences and events.
BID estimates this support could convert into a potential £220m total economic impact being spent in the city’s visitor economy through accommodation and hospitality.
Bill Addy, chief executive of the BID, told LBN: “It’s very positive news to see the number of people coming to stay in Liverpool increasing.
“The Accommodation BID, which has been in place since 2023, has a clear mandate to help increase occupancy, giving a boost to our visitor and night time economy.
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“The work we have been doing this year, led by the industry, to implement a £2 overnight levy for visitors is designed to help ensure we have a sustainable and circular visitor economy.
“We can support the major events, conferences and festivals that encourage overnight stays and that these, in turn, help to create a bigger chunk of funding to attract even more.
“Events such the British Chess Championship, World Boxing Championships and more show that when we have the right event it benefits our whole city economy.”