Aberdeen hotels suffer fresh falls amid oil downturn

Revenues generated by hotels in Aberdeen tumbled by more than 40 per cent for the second consecutive month in November as the strain of weak oil prices continued taking its toll on the sector.
Hotel revenues have plunged in Aberdeen. Picture: Ian RutherfordHotel revenues have plunged in Aberdeen. Picture: Ian Rutherford
Hotel revenues have plunged in Aberdeen. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Compared with the same period a year earlier, room yield – the industry measure of revenue – dropped by 42.3 per cent in the Granite City. That followed a 46 per cent decline recorded in October by accountancy firm BDO in its monthly survey of the hotel sector.

Occupancy levels in Aberdeen fell by nearly 12 per cent to 69.8 per cent of capacity, the latest results revealed. The weak figures weighed heavily on the Scotland-wide performance, with other cities posting more positive results.

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Alastair Rae, a partner at BDO, said the figures from other cities during November were a routine part of the “seasonal ebb and flow of the hotel market”. Outside of Aberdeen, signs point to a stable if unexceptional year for the industry.

“It is clear that Aberdeen hoteliers continue to be battered by the weak oil price and the consequent difficulties this is producing in the wider north-east economy,” Rae said.

Rooms yield in Edinburgh was near-static at £52.12 with a 1.4 per cent dip in occupancy, while Inverness managed to lift revenues by 5.1 per cent to £43.26 even though occupancy fell by 1.6 per cent. Occupancy in Glasgow was down by 1.3 per cent.