Country overview: 500 hotel schemes lined up for the UK [Infographic]

by | 10 Jul 2021 | Pipeline, Projects

According to the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database, the UK hotel sector looks set for a busy few years, with London retaining its crown as the biggest growth market.

Our researchers report that the UK’s project pipeline currently contains a remarkable 493 hotels with 70,880 rooms. Despite the sector facing well-publicised labour shortages amid the twin pressures of Covid and Brexit, many of these schemes will come to fruition sooner rather than later.

UK hotel openings by date

In the second half of 2021, 130 hotels with 16,121 rooms are due to open across the UK. Another 115 projects with 17,116 keys will join them in 2022.

Things will slow down a bit in 2023, with only 44 projects and 7,522 rooms expected to complete that year. For 2024 and beyond, 204 additional schemes and 30,121 keys have been mooted thus far.

Of the UK’s 493 new hotels, 78% will be in the four-star segment, while the remaining 22% fall into the five-star category.

The country’s key urban growth markets

As usual, the capital London tops our list of the UK’s biggest urban growth markets. Currently, there are 115 projects with 19,744 rooms earmarked for the city, putting it well ahead of nearest challenger Liverpool, where just 27 properties and 3,672 rooms have been pencilled in to date.

Glasgow and Edinburgh each have 25 schemes on the cards, which on average will be significantly larger than their counterparts in Liverpool, given their respective total room counts of 4,644 and 4,240.

The UK’s fastest growing hotel brands

In terms of which hotel brands are growing the fastest, Hampton by Hilton takes the lead overall, with 18 ongoing projects and 2,931 rooms.

IHG’s Hotel Indigo follows in second place with eight new properties and 1,089 keys. Not far behind, meanwhile, is Courtyard by Marriott, which concludes our top three courtesy of its seven hotels and 1,271 rooms.

Interesting new hotels coming to the UK

One The Thames is an exciting project consisting of two towers, the northern one facing the famous Strand and the southern one overlooking London’s iconic river. The southern tower will be home to the 113-key Arundel Great Court Hotel South Site, which is due to begin welcoming guests in early 2022. Wilkinson Eyre Architects and Horden Cherry Lee Architects are the creative minds behind the hotel’s eye-catching design and interiors.

Another noteworthy property, The Londoner, will launch in Leicester Square in late 2021, offering 350 rooms and suites in an unbeatable location. Among its many amenities, guests will find five concept restaurants and lounges including a rooftop bar, a state-of-the-art ballroom for up to 1,000 guests, two cinemas and a subterranean spa. Woods Bagot and Yabu Pushelberg are working together on the design of this much-anticipated property.

When it opens in September 2021, The Westin London City will also overlook the Thames. This 222-key scheme will incorporate a lounge, a bar, a restaurant, conference rooms, a gym, a swimming pool and retail space. Besides the hotel element, the building will also house high-spec residential apartments.

Many TOPHOTELNEWS articles draw on exclusive information from the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database. This subscription-based product includes details of thousands of hotel projects around the world, along with the key decision-makers behind them. Please note, our data may differ from records held by other organisations. Generally, the database focuses on four- and five-star schemes of significant scale; tracks projects in either the vision, pre-planning, planning, under-construction, pre-opening or newly opened phase; and covers newbuilds, extensions, refurbishments and conversions.

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