The United Kingdom’s hotel market ranges from renowned 5-star and luxury hotels to major national budget brands. In 2024, the market size of the hotel industry in the UK was valued at approximately **** billion British pounds, down from the previous year's total of **** billion British pounds. In 2025, the market size of this industry was forecast to increase by around *** million British pounds. How high is the UK’s hotel occupancy rate? The monthly hotel occupancy rate in the UK reached ** percent in March 2025. While this figure was a slight decrease from the same month in the previous year, it was significantly higher than in the years 2020, 2021, and 2022. In March 2020 and 2021, the country's hotel occupancy rate had fallen to ** percent and ** percent, respectively. The low occupancy rate during 2020 and 2021 was due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which greatly limited travel and tourism across the globe. Who are the key players in the UK hotel industry? During the 2023/24 financial year, Whitbread’s annual revenue amounted to **** billion British pounds. Whitbread is a UK multinational leisure and hospitality company, best known as the owner of the Premier Inn hotel brand which can be found across the country. Meanwhile, the gross revenue of Holiday Inn hotels worldwide totaled *** billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels owned by the British company InterContinental Hotels Group.

The United Kingdom Hospitality Market Segments by Sector (Accommodation, Food and Beverage Service Establishments, and More), by Service Model (Full-Service, Limited / Budget and More), by End-User (Leisure Travellers, Business Travellers and More), by Booking Channel (Direct, Online Travel Agencies, and More), by Ownership Model (Independent Operators and Chain / Branded), by Geography.

Performance in the Hotels industry is shaped by a mix of domestic tourism, robust inbound international travel and evolving consumer preferences. London, in particular, remains one of the most visited cities in Europe, while regional hotels draw in plenty of domestic travellers. Adverse economic conditions, including the COVID-19 pandemic and inflationary pressures, have caused volatility in industry revenue. Intense competition and changing guest expectations around value, experience and sustainability profoundly impact operations. Industry revenue is expected to soar at a compound annual rate of 16% over the five years through 2025-26 to reach £27.5 billion, despite a slight 0.3% dip in 2025-26. Expanding domestic and international tourism after the removal of COVID-19 restrictions fuelled a recovery in revenue and profit for hotels. However, the boom in staycations noted during the three years through 2023-24 has dissipated amid poor weather and lingering financial challenges, weakening occupancy rates and revenue over the two years through 2025-26. Nonetheless, growth in inbound visits has continued, providing opportunities for hotels targeting international consumers. The popularity of short-term rentals, including Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking listings, is luring consumers away from hotels and forcing them to continually improve services. The digital revolution is transforming the industry's operations, with online travel agents allowing independent hotels to target a broader customer base, boost bookings and impose commissions. These competitive pressures and mounting operating costs amid inflationary pressures and labour challenges have weighed on the average profit margin. The hikes in National Living Wage and the employer National Insurance contributions are hurting hotels in 2025-26. Hotels’ revenue is forecast to expand at a compound annual rate of 3.3% over the five years through 2030-31 to £32.4 billion. Growing tourism numbers, particularly international visitors and improving confidence and disposable incomes will drive revenue growth. VisitBritain forecasts a record 43.4 million inbound visits to the UK in 2025. Platforms like Airbnb will continue to threaten hotels, though potential new regulations on short-term rentals may weaken this. Hotels will invest in technology and facilities to meet growing consumer preferences and willingness to pay more for unique experiences, wellness and sustainability. Technology can also help make operations more efficient, reduce operating cost pressures and support profit. Yet, severe staff shortages and price pressures from short-term rentals and OTAs will constrain profit growth.

The consumer price index for hotels, cafés, and restaurants in the United Kingdom was 149.2 in the second quarter of 2025, indicating that prices in this sector have increased by 49.2 percent since 2015, compared with 38.5 percent for overall prices.

The inflation rate for restaurants and hotels in the United Kingdom was *** percent in the second quarter of 2025, which was below the overall inflation rate for that quarter.

Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Hospitality market size is expected to reach $1.44 billion by 2029 at 57.6%, segmented as by machine learning, predictive analytics, recommendation systems, personalization engines

Hospitality can be defined somewhat broadly as an industry that focuses on providing consumers with a means to participate in leisure activities, be that staying in a hotel or dining in a restaurant. It encompasses many industries, the largest of which are accommodation and food and drink services. In 2023, the global hospitality market reached over *** trillion U.S. dollars and was forecast to grow to around *** trillion U.S. dollars in 2024.

This statistic shows growth in the total contribution of the travel and tourism industry to GDP in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2012 to 2018, with a forecast for 2028. The growth rate stood at *** percent in 2017.

A 2023 study focused on the main opportunities considered by global hotel chains to implement artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in property operations. Based on the survey, ** percent of respondents saw the biggest AI and machine learning opportunity in predictive modeling for environmental protection using energy, water, and waste-monitoring tools. This figure denotes an increase of ** percentage points compared to the 2021 study.

This statistic displays a breakdown of United Kingdom (UK) outbound tourism spending in the European Union (27 countries) by product category in 2016. Accommodation accounted for 19 percent of UK travelers' spending in the EU.

In 2024, the number of overseas resident visits to the United Kingdom totaled 39 million, representing a growth of around three percent from the previous year. Has the UK’s tourism industry completely recovered from the coronavirus pandemic? Like in most countries, the travel restrictions put in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the UK’s tourism industry. Overseas visitor numbers dropped to 7.1 million in 2021, representing a drop of over 80 percent from 2019. While the figure reported for 2024 showed a continued recovery in terms of overseas visitors to the UK, it remained below pre-pandemic levels. However, in terms of spending among the UK’s leading inbound travel markets, overseas visitors spent more in 2024 than in 2019, with visitors from the UK’s leading inbound travel market, the United States, spending around 70 percent more during their travels than in 2019. What are the most visited cities in the UK? Unsurprisingly, London has consistently ranked as the most visited town or city in the UK among international tourists in recent years, drawing in over 20 million visitors in 2024. This was around tenfold the number of the second-most visited city, Edinburgh, during the same year. As the UK’s capital city, London’s tourist attractions are as varied as the city itself; however, one particularly strong draw for inbound visitors is Royal Family-related tourism. This is evident with the top two most visited paid tourist attractions in England being based in London and either belonging to the Royal Family or being run by a Royal-affiliated charity. Meanwhile, among UK residents, London ranks as the second most popular destination for a summer staycation, with the South West ranking first.

This chart shows results from an online survey conducted in Great Britain in 2016 on whether Brexit supporters would still be in favor of Brexit if British people needed a visa to travel elsewhere in Europe, sorted by age group. The most support for leaving the EU under these circumstances was found in the older age groups. By contrast, the most respondents who opposed the idea of Brexit were recorded to be in the youngest age group.

Global hotel giant Marriott generated approximately **** billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2024, up from ***** billion the previous year. The company's revenue dropped by roughly half in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. That year, global travel restrictions severely impacted the hotel industry. Leading global hotel chains In 2023, Marriott was the leading hotel company worldwide in terms of revenue, ranking ahead of other large hotel chains such as MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and Hilton. When it came to number of properties, Marriott accounted for ***** hotels worldwide in 2023. Hilton accounted for roughly 1,000 fewer properties during that same period. Which hotel company has the highest brand value? In terms of brand value, Marriott placed among the top five most valuable hotel brands leading global hotel brands with a brand value of over ***** billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Hilton recorded the highest hotel brand value in 2023, valuing at over ** billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, Hyatt ranked second in terms of brand value at **** billion.