Scotland's hotels 'outperforming rest of UK'

The survey suggested occupancy rates and revenue from rooms climbed in Scotland

Scotland's hotels are continuing to outperform every other part of the UK except London, according to a report by accountants PKF.

The firm's latest survey suggested occupancy levels in Scotland rose by 2.6% in September to reach 84.7%.

The year-on-year figure was well above levels achieved in England (79.1%) and Wales (78%).

Rooms yield was also higher in Scotland than any other part of the UK, rising by 8.7% to £66.46.

Occupancy in Edinburgh was the second highest in the UK after York, with a strong increase of 4.9% on the previous year.

Both Inverness and Aberdeen recorded increases of 4.3% and 1.6% respectively, with only Glasgow showing a fall of 1.3% in the month.

In Aberdeen, revenue from rooms increased by 37.3% on the previous year, having been boosted by the bi-annual Offshore Europe Conference.

Alastair Rae, from PKF, said: "These figures indicate that the Scottish hospitality sector continues to experience an excellent year both in terms of improved occupancy and, more crucially, increased revenue."

He added: "Of course, the economy remains stubbornly flat and the economic difficulties in the eurozone will have implications for the buoyancy of the hotel sector.

"Scotland relies heavily on European tourism and continued difficulties will impact on the future performance of the sector."

PKF's hotel trends survey covers a broad range of hotels in the three to four star categories.