UK: Aparthotel operator Staycity has seen UK bookings surge this week on the back of the Government’s recovery roadmap, which was announced on Monday.
Bookings across the group’s 11 UK properties rose 333 per cent in the 24 hours after the announcement, compared with the previous week, with £312,000-worth of business taken on Tuesday 23rd Feb alone. London, Birmingham and Manchester were the most popular destinations.
Staycity co-founder and CEO Tom Walsh said the surge in demand was “exciting news” for Staycity, which suffered earlier than most from the impact of the pandemic with its property in York being at the centre of the first Covid-19 cases in the UK back in January 2020.
“This demonstrates the pent-up demand for travel and the fact guests are keen to book trips and to have something to look forward to. It’s a huge relief to us, and the hospitality industry as a whole, to have this clear evidence that people are keen to make up for lost time – and also that they have confidence in the stringent hygiene protocols the industry has put in place,” said Walsh.
In November last year Staycity announced a €70 million debt and equity refinancing ensuring the privately owned company was fully capitalised post-pandemic, and ready to continue with its European plans to almost double its size over the next 18 months and to operate 15,000 keys by 2026/2027. This year Staycity will open nine properties across Europe, with a further six in 2022 including sites in Manchester, Dublin, Bordeaux, Paris, London and Frankfurt.
Walsh added: “It’s been a difficult 12 months for the hotel sector, but it seems that at last we can look forward to some light at the end of the tunnel. Aparthotels, with their well-equipped self-catering facilities, will prove a popular choice for travellers going forward and the bookings we have seen this week is welcome evidence of this.”
