Snow joke for hoteliers

HEAVY snow in December caused headaches for Yorkshire’s hoteliers, according to monthly figures released yesterday by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services.

In Leeds, occupancy levels in December were down three per cent to 64.6 per cent, while room rate fell by 0.8 per cent to £62.43 resulting in a rooms yield of £40.33, a decrease of 3.8 per cent when compared to December 2009.

Sheffield hotels didn’t fare well either, with occupancy levels in the city falling by 6.8 per cent to 59.9 per cent. Room rates fell by 4.1 per cent to £49.59. York had a particularly bad month, with December occupancy levels dropping from 75.1 per cent to 64.2 per cent, while room rate fell 3.2 per cent to £61.82.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Paul Clarke, partner at PKF, said: “December’s weather conditions caused disruption to all parts of Yorkshire as well as many other areas of the country. This left the cities with the combined problem of being inaccessible for visitors, who were also unable to make their journeys.”