UK sees record number of overseas visits and spend in April
STR and Google find “ strong correlation ” between searches and bookings
Britannia Hotels pleads guilty to food safety breaches at the Adelphi
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That ’ s how many samples of iced coffee drinks at Costa were found to have faecal bacteria in them .
TOURISM STATS
UK sees record number of overseas visits and spend in April
New figures from VisitBritain show that April was a record month for the number of overseas visits to the UK and spend .
Some 3.7million visits were made to the UK in April , up 19 % when compared to the same period last year . Overseas visitors spent £ 2bn , up 20 % on last year .
Figures from the year ’ s first quarter ( Jan to Feb ) showed there was a record 11.8million inbound visits an increase of 11 % on last year and the spend was £ 6.2bn , up 14 %.
Most of the growth in inbound visits have come from the US with more than one million visits in the first quarter , up 16 % compared to the first quarter of 2016 . There was also a record number of 8.3million visits from the EU an increase of 7 %.
Patricia Yates , director of VisitBritain , said : “ Tourism is one of Britain ’ s most valuable export industries and it is very encouraging to see this continued growth as we head into the peak summer season and beyond .
“ We continue to drive home the message of value and welcome globally , particularly in our high spending markets China and the US and the valuable European market .”
ONLINE BOOKING
STR and Google find “ strong correlation ” between searches and bookings
Higher Google search volumes are “ strongly correlated ” with higher hotel demand levels analysis from STR and Google has found .
STR and Google looked at data from London and New York City for its regression analysis . The search patterns and hotel performance trends were studied for each market in 2015 and 2016 .
Accommodation searches in London rose by 2.1 % in 2015 but only 0.8 % in 2016 . Hotel demand in the UK capital increased 1.7 % in both 2015 and 2016 .
November and December of 2016 were shown to be strong months for accommodation searches and demand in London , which is attributable to the fall in the value of the British pound .
Robert Bauer , senior analyst at STR , said : “ Our study showed a statistically significant relationship between Google search data and the number of roomnights actually sold in the two markets .
“ Global markets vary greatly as it relates to seasonality , consumer travel behavior and economic factors , but it is reasonable to project a similar correlation for other established markets in the hotel industry .”
He added : “ This is important for hoteliers in assessing interest in a particular destination and measuring how booking patterns evolve around that interest .”
HYGIENE
Britannia Hotels pleads guilty to food safety breaches at the Adelphi
Britannia Hotels , owners of Liverpool ’ s Adelphi hotel were taken to Liverpool Magistrates ’ Court charged with a number of breaches of food safety laws .
It admitted to breaching the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations Act 2013 following inspections at the hotel in September 2015 and March and September 2016 .
Evidence of rodents , live cockroaches , cockroach body parts and unclean floors were found at the inspections .
Britannia Hotels plead guilty to all charges of failing to keep its kitchen clean and failing to have adequate procedures in place to control pests . This turned the hearing into a sentencing as opposed to a trial .
The hotel currently has a hygiene rating of two out of five .
David Birrell , prosecutor , said : “ By its guilty plea , the defendant accepts its procedures were not adequate . The defendant ’ s approach to pest control was reactive , rather than proactive .”
He went on to say that while the hotel was “ not alone in being vulnerable to pests ”, the amount of derelict buildings nearby made it a more “ difficult problem ”.
William Hibbert , speaking on behalf of the Adelphi told the court that a pest control contractor said the hotel was “ doing a good job ” and added that although it was a long standing problem , “ it was wrong to suggest that [ it ] was a large infestation ”.
8 www . hotelowner . co . uk July 2017