Hotel bookings in Bristol have exceeded their 2019 levels for the first time since the pandemic began, according to a new study.
Data by hotel commerce platform SiteMinder found Bristol’s hotel booking performance this summer, compared to the same period in 2019, ranks six percent higher than the UK average.
That’s 24 per cent higher than London, and comfortably above many iconic European tourist destinations including Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris and Vienna.
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The data has been gathered by SiteMinder’s World Hotel Index, which is used by 35,000 hotels and connected to more than 400 hotel booking channels globally.
It found Bristol is one of the leading beneficiaries of the staycation boom, with bookings in the city reaching 100 percent of 2019 numbers for the same period on August 2, 2021, and remaining stable since then.
Bristol’s hotel bookings currently sit at 96 percent of their 2019 volumes, putting the city above London (72 percent of 2019 figures), Barcelona (83 percent), Paris (54 percent), Dublin (85 percent), Rome (62 percent), Amsterdam (59 percent), Berlin (80 percent), Prague (68 percent) and Vienna (57 percent).
Bristol’s roaring recovery is part of a national trend, with hotel bookings for the UK as a whole sitting at a solid 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
The UK’s strong performance is primarily being driven by domestic tourism, with 94 percent of hotel bookings currently coming from within the country.
James Bishop of SiteMinder said: “Bristol’s strong hotel booking figures are part of a sustained trend, with the city’s hotels recording above 90 percent of 2019 numbers every day since July 27, 2021, and reaching its best day so far since the pandemic on August 7, 2021, at 101 percent.
"Bristol has firmly established itself as a favourite destination among UK travellers, and is excellently placed to reap the rewards of an unleashing of pent-up demand, especially as the country reopens in light of the ongoing vaccine programme."
He continued: “What we see is in line with the findings of SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2021: UK Edition , which found that nearly two-thirds of UK travellers plan to travel either more or the same amount as before the pandemic.
"While challenges remain, after 18 months, recovery is now in sight for the country’s accommodation providers who should continue to be diligent about ensuring their business is in the best position to succeed now and in the future, and look to technology as a critical enabler.”
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