Belfast Hotel Room Numbers continue to grow
The total number of hotel rooms in Belfast city centre will have increased by 47 per cent year-on-year by the end of 2018 following an unprecedented rise in hotel development, according the most recent piece of research The Belfast Hotel Market Snapshot 2018 published by Lambert Smith Hampton.
Read the full Belfast Hotel Market Snapshot
Hotels opened in Belfast in 2018
Key developments completed this year include:
- The Grand Central Hotel (4 star, 304 rooms)
- Maldron Hotel (3 star, 237 rooms)
- AC Hotel Marriott (4 star, 188 rooms)
- Hampton by Hilton (3 star, 179 rooms)
New hotels under construction in Belfast
Across four hotels, an additional 183 rooms are under construction and due for delivery before Easter 2019. This includes the George Best Hotel (63 rooms) and Bank Square Boutique Hotel (17 rooms).
Planning permission has recently been approved to convert the former Crumlin Road Courthouse into a £10m, 77 bed hotel which will create 150 jobs.
Growth in the Belfast Hotel Industry
There has been strong revenue growth in Belfast against industry metrics due to the increased demand. Between 2015 and H1 2018, the average daily rate (ADR) in Belfast increased by 25 per cent to £81.65 and the average revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased by 29 per cent to £66.11.
Compared with key cities in the UK and Ireland, Belfast has the third highest average room rate and RevPAR after Dublin and Edinburgh. Notably, Belfast’s average room rate and RevPAR is above the well-known mini break locations of Manchester and Glasgow.
“Belfast’s tourism industry is booming and it is brilliant to see the hotel sector reacting to demand this year. Over the last decade, the number of overnight trips to Belfast has doubled to almost 1.5 million and associated expenditure has increased by 120 per cent."
The latest Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) data indicates that tourism will continue to grow, with forecasts of 5m visitor trips to Northern Ireland per annum and a spend of £1bn.
