holidayhomeinformation.co.uk

Occupancy Trends

Occupancy rates for a holiday property are based on a wide range of factors inside and outside of an owner's control.

July and August are the most popular times of the year for taking a self-catering holiday as school holidays and the warmer weather contribute to demand.  Occupancy at other times of the year can be higher in areas where activities such as walking are popular, where events are frequently held, or there is ‘year round' attraction, especially from overseas guests (such as Stratford upon Avon).

There are general factors affecting tourism trends in general such as

• Weather
• The Economy
• Social trends such as holiday allowances, leisure pursuits, LEA school holiday policies
• Terrorism and environmental issues

Furthermore, there are regional factors affecting tourism at a local level

• Supply of self catering accommodation
• Demand for self catering accommodation in that area
• Local amenities and attractions
• Development and regeneration
• Good PR stories, such as celebrity restaurants
• Transport issues

If you are thinking of buying a holiday home to be rented out to guests then obviously choosing an area with higher occupancy should ensure a higher return, depending on how much you are able to charge.  Of course, popular areas for holidays may also mean higher house prices and if you are also looking to use the property yourself then you should choose an area where you will want to return to time and again.

As with all property purchases location is key and if you are looking for a good ongoing return and capital growth then finding the next ‘hot spot' will obviously help - but that is never easy and always involves an element of a gamble.  But talking to local estate agents and marketing agencies, plus keeping an eye on the news at both a regional and local level should help you get ahead of the game.

The following reports provide further information from a broad range of sources for occupancy through different months of the year and different areas of the UK.

2005 Self Catering Occupancy Survey

www.heart-research.co.uk/heartres_startprodselect.php?=Occupancyself-catering2005.pdf

Occupancy for Skye and Lochalsh in the Scottish Highlands - 2005

http://www.hie.co.uk/HIE-economic-reports-2005/tourism-profiles-2005---skye-and-lochalsh.pdf

Yorkshire Tourist Board Occupancy Report - 2007

http://www.yorkshiretouristboard.net/market-intelligence/downloaddocs/regional_sc_occupancyMay07.pdf

Self Catering in Wales Annual Report 2006

http://new.wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821124154/888061/902478/1474353/1474362?lang=en

Cumbria (The Lake District) Survey on Self Catering Occupancy rates 2007

http://www.cumbriatourism.org/press/intelligence/SC-year-to-date-July.pdf

Hampshire Tourism Trends Survey 2000-2005 (page 10 for s/c)

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/tourism-trend-survey.pdf

Devon Tourism Trends 2005

http://www.devon.gov.uk/tourism_trends_2005.pdf

Further sources of information:

UK National Statistics: www.statistics.gov.uk

UK Tourism Research: www.staruk.com

VisitScotland: www.scotexchange.net/

Edinburgh: www.edinburgh.org

Glasgow: www.seeglasgow.com

Wales Tourist Board: www.wtbonline.gov.uk

Regions and cities of England

Cumbria (The Lake District): www.gocumbria.co.uk

North East England: www.tourismnortheast.co.uk

Yorkshire: www.yorkshiretouristboard.net

East of England: www.visiteastofengland.com

South West England: www.swtourism.co.uk

South East England: www.tourismsoutheast.com

Heart of England: www.heartofenglandtourism.com

Birmingham: www.beinbirmingham.co.uk

Manchester: www.marketingmanchester.com

Jersey: www.jersey.com

Guernsey: www.guernseytrademedia.com

London: www.visitlondon.com