Business travel on the rise in the UK despite Brexit

Advantage Travel Partnership, the UK’s largest independent travel agent and travel management company (TMC) consortium, has revealed the findings of its 2018 Hotels Market Report. The report shows that the UK regional capitals are performing strongly, with overall room nights booked growing by 8% across the top 250 UK cities. London continues to be business travellers’ favourite capital for work trips, with 663,000 room nights booked in 2018, an increase of 5% when compared to 2017. But Edinburgh experienced the highest level of growth in 2018, with room nights booked increasing by 16%. Belfast was up 13% and Cardiff up 5%. The 2018 Hotels Market Report analyses data from corporate hotel bookings made between January and December 2018 by Advantage’s TMC members, who represent around 40% of the UK business travel sector, highlighting business travel trends and booking behaviour.   Global Results The business world continues to travel widely, with the 2018 Hotels Report recording that hotel demand remains strong in many international cities with New York, Auckland, Wellington, Houston, Paris and Sydney topping the Advantage Top Cities list. In total, worldwide volume grew by over 393,000 room nights, a total increase of 8.74% compared to 2017, indicating that SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) corporate accounts, in which Advantage TMCs specialise, continue to perform strongly. The total number of bookings made by Advantage business travel members in 2018 saw similar growth – up 8.76% – while the average length of stay remained constant, at 1.87 nights. Increased demand and higher occupancy globally meant hotel rates have increased by US$2 to an average daily rate (ADR) of US$169.41. Neil Armorgie, global product director at Advantage, commented: “It is clear that the corporate hotel sector continues to grow, with another significant increase in bookings year-on-year, made by independent TMCs. “Despite continued uncertainty in both the global and UK economies including Brexit, hotel room night demand is at record levels in many destinations, providing a welcome boost for our members.” “Although not all destinations in Britain saw an increase in room nights booked, ADR remained strong. It is also positive to see particularly good performance in both major cities and regions such as the East Midlands and North East.” The full report is available to read here.