Since the start of 2018, Liverpool City Council has either granted permission for, or is currently considering, approximately 50 hotel schemes (totalling 3,500 beds) proposed to be delivered in the city centre. 

To put that figure into context, a recent report by Regenerating Liverpool showed that as of December 2018, there were a total of 7,000 available bedrooms in existing hotels. That’s all without even mentioning the increasingly popular apart-hotel style accommodation which is becoming a feature of the city centre.

The development pipeline includes both the new development of urban regeneration sites such as the Marriot Moxy on Renshaw Street, as well as the repurposing of existing buildings like Martins Bank, the former Municipal Buildings on Dale Street and North Western Hall, for which Savills has recently gained permission.   

Clearly, investors are looking into the city’s hotel market on the back of strong international and domestic tourism coupled with a lack of clear investment opportunities in the retail, leisure and office sectors. And why not? Hotel development in Liverpool is strong and, despite the clear investment growth detailed above, occupancy levels are also on the rise. 

The number of hotel rooms sold in the city last year was up almost 4 per cent on 2017, with weekend occupancy at 90 per cent and (perhaps more importantly) weekday occupancy at 81 per cent. The tourism industry is a pillar of the city’s economy, and supports other related markets such as retail and leisure.

The Liverpool City Region has always hosted high-profile leisure tourism events, such as the Open Golf Championship, the Giant Spectacular and the Grand National Festival, which bring large crowds and widespread economic benefits.

More recently however, investment in business tourism has also spurred growth, including events such as the Labour Party Conference, the 2018 International Business Festival and a growing number of filming events including BBC dramas Peaky Blinders  and The War of the Worlds, as well as the major motion picture, Tolkien.

With such strong growth and wide-based demand, many will be predicting another strong year of growth for the Liverpool tourism market. Major redevelopment schemes, such as the £1 billion Knowledge Quarter, the £5.5 billion Liverpool Waters regeneration scheme and the new Cruise Liner Terminal, are now starting to come out of the ground.

It has been 10 years since Liverpool was declared the European Capital of Culture. Since then, the city’s attraction to visitors (and investors) has continued to grow. And it’s easy to see why: with such strong visitor growth and diverse, multi-faceted appeal, it’s likely that demand for hotel floorspace in Liverpool will continue to be high.  

Further information

Contact Savills Hotels