It’s well publicised that Bristol is one of the happiest places to live in the UK. There is plenty to attract visitors to the city, including a thriving food and drink scene and close proximity to both Cardiff and Bath. So what does the current hotel landscape in Bristol look like, and what does the future hold?
There’s currently a strong leisure market underpinning hotel demand: Visit England recorded an average annual tourist spend in the UK of £604 million in 2018 and according to stats from AM:PM Hotels, average occupancy for Bristol has increased year on year since 2016. In 2018 levels reached in excess of 80 per cent as demand for rooms in in the city continues to climb.
The majority (85 per cent) of the city’s hotel stock is branded: Premier Inn and Hilton are prime examples. The weighting towards branding also applies to rooms under construction. Of the 640 currently being built, 80 per cent are branded, including some of the most prominent developments such as the Radisson Red Bristol and the 200 bedroom Jurys Inn.
The nature of Bristol’s city centre lends itself to branded hotels providing space for both leisure and corporate visitors in a relatively constrained area.
The new developments around the city centre, including Wapping Wharf and the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, are seen as a vote of confidence in Bristol by investors that are attracted to the future growth of the city.
Hotels, especially branded assets, provide attractive long-term investment options. This is particularly true for Bristol with the growth in demand for hotel bedrooms and continued development alongside its strong underlying residential and commercial markets.
Looking to the future, there is ample opportunity for hotel development in Bristol, both in the branded sector and for more boutique hotels to create a presence in the city.
The diverse neighbourhoods that surround the city centre each have their own personality offering independent and boutique operators the opportunity to create lifestyle concepts reflecting these as well as Bristol’s broader character.
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