Cricket World Cup Swings UK Hotels to GOPPAR Highs

June was a banner month for UK hotels. Profit performance hit a peak for the year as the typically strong month was boosted by the Cricket World Cup, according to the latest data tracking hotels from HotStats.

GOPPAR for June was up 10.8% year-over-year, hitting £75.47, which is a recent high and 61.5% above the year-to-date figure.

This was the first month in 2019 in which hotels in the UK recorded a YOY increase in profit and the margin of increase was so great that YTD GOPPAR is now only 0.7% behind the same period in 2018.

The strong bottom-line performance was led by a punchy top-line showing with a 0.7-percentage-point increase in room occupancy to 84.6%, complemented by an 8.6% YOY increase in achieved average room rate, which grew to £137.36.

At £116.24, RevPAR in June was almost £20 higher than in May.

This was supported by increases in ancillary revenues, led by a 4.2% increase in food & beverage revenue, to £45.78 on a per-available-room basis, which contributed to the 7.6% increase in TRevPAR to £172.30.

And whilst payroll levels continued to rise, increasing by 4.8% YOY to £43.21 in the month, the pace of revenue growth meant hotels in the UK recorded their strongest margin of YOY profit increase since October 2018.

Profit & Loss Key Performance Indicators – Total UK (in GBP)

One big assist: The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, which was hosted by England and Wales and proved to be a huge demand generator. It ran from 30 May through the final, played at Lord's in London, on 14 July.

Manchester’s Old Trafford was the host venue for six games of the World Cup, which included the clash between India and Pakistan, one of the world’s most watched sporting events.

The significant increase in visitor numbers to the city enabled hotels to drive a 12.5% increase in GOPPAR to £61.30, which was on the back of an 8.9% increase in RevPAR, which hit £98.53.

This was more than £5 higher than the previous RevPAR peak recorded in the city, in October 2018, and was complemented by an 8.7% increase in ancillary revenues to £46.81 per available room.

The only blight was a 5.3% increase in payroll to £33.92 per available room. Despite this, profit conversion at hotels in Manchester was recorded at 42.2% of total revenue.

Profit & Loss Key Performance Indicators – Manchester (in GBP)

It was an equally positive month for hotels in Southampton, where the Rose Bowl hosted five matches from the Cricket World Cup and the cruise season kicked off in earnest.

As a result, hotels in the city were able to record a 7.3% YOY increase in GOPPAR to £38.82. This was 74.5% above the YTD measure at £22.25.

The growth was fuelled by a 10.3% increase in RevPAR, which came as a result of room occupancy hitting a lofty 84.2% and achieved average room rate increasing by 2.3% YOY to £82.05, a high for the year.

It has been a positive year of trading so far for hotels in Southampton, with GOPPAR increasing by 10.4% for YTD 2019.

Profit & Loss Key Performance Indicators – Southampton (in GBP)