Accommodation

2. Key statistics

4. Executive summary 2022

2022 has shown a steady rise in occupancy levels across all sectors due to a gradual recovery within the industry post COVID-19. Occupancy within the Serviced Sector has shown strong percentage point increases from the start of the year.

Some providers reported an increase in international guests compared with the previous year and stock availability increases with several providers beginning trading again following an extended closure over the lockdown period.  Various Independent guesthouse / B&B’s have reported a continued lull in business due to the extended effect of COVID-19.  Other factors reported were closures of tourist attractions in certain areas and because of the increasing popularity of Air BNB.

Hotels 2022 summary

• hotel room occupancy reached a peak in July and August at 83.7%
• average peak RevPAR was £268.20 achieved in February
• the most popular booking method was directly with hotel accommodation, followed by "other" which includes booking sites and agents
• 99% of all participating hotels had their own website, with the majority also listing on TripAdvisor (87%). Facebook continued to be popular in 2022 with 85% having their own page to promote their accommodation. YouTube was used by 12% of hotels

Guesthouse/B&B 2022 summary

• guesthouses/B&B room occupancy reached a peak in July at 74.8%

• the most popular booking method was direct booking, followed by ‘walk-in’. ‘Other’ booking channels such as booking sites, proved less popular in 2022
• all participating guesthouse, B&B providers had their own website, with the majority also listing on TripAdvisor (83%). Facebook was also popular in 2022 with over 50% providers having their own page to promote their accommodation. Twitter was used by just over a quarter of guesthouse, B&B providers.

Self-Catering 2022 summary

• self-Catering Unit occupancy reached a peak in July at 60.3%
• other booking methods were cited as most popular by 79% of self-catering accommodation providers. These include booking agents and channels such as SuperControl and Discover Scotland.
• 97% of all participating Self-Catering accommodation providers had their own website. Just over two-thirds had a Facebook page, with just over 60% of participants using TripAdvisor. Twitter was used by just over 50% of participants, however just over a fifth used YouTube (22%).

6. How you can take part

Accommodation businesses are encouraged to take part in the survey. Businesses can enter their data using an online tool which is free, quick, and easy to use. There are lots of ways businesses can benefit from taking part. By entering data, accommodation businesses can:

• Monitor their own business performance
• Receive reports back to benchmark against others
• Use the results as a proof of performance for funding or loan purposes
• Store occupancy figures so that over time trends and areas for growth can be identified
• Receive additional extracts from the Moffat Centre’s Visitor Attraction Barometer to provide further insight on tourism in the local area

If you are a Scottish accommodation business and would like to benefit from this free opportunity to monitor your occupancy, email the Moffat Centre on info@moffatcentre.com or by phone on 0141 331 8400.