Greater Manchester posts highest ever hotel occupancy levels

Hotel occupancy rates across Greater Manchester in 2015 were at their highest level since records began, according to new data.

Figures compiled by hotel market data firm STR Global Ltd showed that the average occupancy rate in the county over the last 12 months was 80%.

The data represents the third year of growth for the area’s hotel industry, where in 2013 the city centre occupancy rate stood at 77% and 76% for the rest of Greater Manchester. In 2014, those figures increased to 79% and 77% respectively.

Nick Brooks-Sykes, the director of tourism at promotional agency Marketing Manchester, which released the findings this week, commented: “These figures are a real testament to the strength of Greater Manchester’s hotel and tourism industries as occupancy rates continue to grow, even in the face of so many new hotels joining the market.

“We’ve been saying for some time that 2015 was a standout year for tourism - we had the reopening of the Whitworth, the opening of HOME and some fantastic events like the Manchester International Festival, Manchester Pride’s 25th anniversary and a huge rugby weekend in October – so it’s great to see our expectations confirmed with some hard data.”

The news of increased occupancy rates comes as Greater Manchester prepares to see its hospitality offer boosted with an additional 3,000 rooms over the next two years.

Speaking further, Nick said: “What’s also interesting about the 2015 data is that within the city centre the average annual occupancy rate at the weekend was 86% versus 77% during the week.

“This is an important piece of intelligence and proves that there is still a lot of potential for growth to meet demand during busy weekends.”

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