The Commonwealth Games gave Glasgow the opportunity to showcase true Scottish hospitality, with a number of different areas of business benefiting hugely from the influx of guests to the city. One of the major beneficiaries of the Games was the hotel sector due to the rising demand for beds during the event.
During July, the sector enjoyed a 73.3 per cent boost to revenue, with room yield increasing from £45.31 to £78.53 on a year on year basis. The figures from accountancy firm BDO LLP also show a 4 per cent rise in total occupancy levels, with 88.5 per cent of the city’s hotel rooms occupied.
Partner at BDO’s property, leisure and hospitality sector Alistair Rae believes the Commonwealth Games had a strongly positive effect upon hotel occupancy in most Scottish cities.
He said; “There was a fantastic Commonwealth Games effect on Glasgow’s occupancy and, more importantly, its revenue levels.
“Added to the continued performance of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, this propelled the urban hotels in Scotland to a strong performance.”
Edinburgh and Aberdeen are two of the most consistently strong performers in the Scottish hotels sector – in fact, Edinburgh currently has the second highest room yield of all UK cities, second only to Oxford.
During July of this year, the figure reached a lucrative £81.86 per room which, although high was, in fact, a 1.5 per cent decline on figures achieved during July 2013.
And Edinburgh’s hotel sector could soon have a new attraction following news that a specialist hospitality development company has unveiled plans for a £35 million flagship “Urban Villa” hotel.
If approved, Union Hanover’s new concept waterfront hotel will be built beside Edinburgh’s Union Canal Basin on Freer Street with site work starting early next spring.
“We are very passionate about creating a destination hotel for Edinburgh,” admitted Union Hanover managing director, Eric Jafari who described the Urban Villa concept as a “boutique all-suites hotel” which is new to the UK, but much more common in other parts of Europe, Asia and the United States.
“We’re champing at the bit to create a statement building for the city which will embrace its stunning location and transform it into an inviting social hub, for residents of the city and the hotel alike,” added Jafari.
With 180 accommodation “units”, the Urban Villa-branded hotel will include a range of studios and one-bedroom suites, as well as four rooftop penthouses. Each unit will also have a kitchen and living room space, “designed to fit any kind of guest, whether business or leisure”.
Union Hanover and Urban Villa co-founder Andrew Fowler continued: “The location identifies extremely well with the brand philosophy of Urban Villa — the Urban and edgy tones of our common areas and front of house reflecting the culturally rich aspects of Edinburgh’s with the Villa decadence of our suites, mirroring the modern and corporate developments of the west end of the city.
“It’s this balance of design integrating modern luxury with the cultural heritage of each of our properties locations that allows each Urban Villa hotel to offer a unique hospitality experience while offering consistent values, facilities and service”.
With Cliff Goodwin
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