UK hospitality 2024: a summer of mixed fortunes and how to prepare for 2025

The summer of 2024 was a season of mixed fortunes for the UK hospitality sector, with demand fluctuating across regions, driven by consumer confidence, economic pressures, and high-profile events.

According to the latest data, London’s hotel occupancy surged back to pre-pandemic levels, hitting 89.3% in July 2024, while UK-wide hotel occupancy reached 84.8%. RevPAR also rose, both across the UK and in London, showing that demand was there, but not distributed evenly.

This is exactly the point many hoteliers need to keep in mind when looking ahead. The same summer created full-capacity conditions in some destinations and much more fragile demand in others. So if you are planning 2025 based only on national averages, there is a risk of drawing the wrong conclusions for your own property.

Looking ahead, this article explores how UK hoteliers can respond to rising costs, shifting consumer expectations, and increasing competition, and which strategies are likely to matter most in the coming months.

Event-driven surges: What it means for hoteliers

One of the most significant drivers of demand in 2024 was large-scale events. London benefited from major moments such as the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, and Edinburgh also saw strong peaks thanks to high-profile cultural events. These periods pushed many hotels close to full capacity and created strong short-term revenue opportunities.

This broader trend also appears in the data. Alongside London’s particularly strong July, Knight Frank noted that London’s Q2 2024 occupancy reached 83%, supported especially by stronger premium demand.

However, while these surges were good for business, they also introduced challenges. High-demand periods tend to create a form of event-driven inflation, where costs rise alongside room demand. This puts pressure not only on consumers, but also on hospitality businesses that already face higher operating costs.

And while destinations like London and Edinburgh reaped the benefits of concentrated event demand, regional hotels often struggled to maintain the same momentum.

The lesson here is simple: event-driven demand can generate excellent results, but it also makes static planning much riskier. In markets shaped by concerts, festivals, sports events, or short booking windows, pricing and distribution decisions need to adapt quickly.

Rising costs: a challenge for domestic and regional hotels

At the same time, many UK hoteliers have had to deal with the ongoing effects of the cost-of-living crisis. Disposable incomes have remained under pressure, which has encouraged shorter trips and a stronger focus on value for money, especially among domestic travelers.

This has hit many regional hotels particularly hard, as they often depend more heavily on domestic leisure demand than major international cities do.

Adding to these difficulties are rising operational costs. Inflation, wage increases, and supply chain disruption have all contributed to higher costs over recent years, while many properties outside the main hubs have found it harder to pass these increases fully on to the guest.

Knight Frank’s 2024 dashboard also highlights the gap between London and the regions: while London’s performance had largely returned to 2019 levels, regional UK occupancy in Q2 remained below comparable pre-pandemic levels overall.

This is why maintaining competitiveness has become especially challenging for many UK destinations. Hotels are not only competing with stronger domestic and international destinations, but also with smaller places that have done a better job of communicating what makes them worth the trip.

In this context, competing on price alone becomes a trap. If guests are more cautious about spending, the answer is not always to become cheaper. Often, the better answer is to make your value more visible and more convincing.

What is nudge marketing and why it could be a game-changer

Marketing played a crucial role in determining the success or failure of tourist destinations during the summer of 2024, and it will become an increasingly important tool going forward.

Nudge marketing is the approach of gently influencing people’s choices and behavior in a subtle, positive way, without forcing them and without relying only on discounts.

The idea behind it is simple: people do not always make decisions through a fully rational comparison of every option. Very often, they choose based on habits, perceptions, reassurance, and the way options are presented to them.

In hospitality, this means communication can do much more than simply inform. It can guide preference, reduce hesitation, and help guests better understand the value of a stay.

This is especially relevant for regional hotels. If your destination is not the obvious first choice, then the way you present your offer can make a big difference. Nudge marketing helps you protect your rates while still improving conversion.

Practical examples of nudge marketing to boost hospitality appeal

Digital tools and online platforms provide essential resources for this approach, which starts with attracting visitors to your website or social channels and then helping them move from interest to action.

In this context, Google remains one of the most powerful and cost-effective allies. If you want to explore this further, check our article on how to use Google Travel, Google Hotel Ads, and Google Business Profile to drive bookings.

Once you have captured the attention of potential customers, there are several practical ways to make your communication more effective.

• Leverage social proof
  People tend to trust the behavior and decisions of other people. Displaying positive reviews, guest photos, or a short message explaining why guests choose your property can reduce hesitation and make the offer feel more credible.
• Promote unique experiences
  Offering packages that immerse guests in local traditions, nature, food, or culture helps people picture the stay more clearly. This is particularly effective at a time when many travelers are looking for authenticity and not just accommodation.
• Encourage off-season travel
  If you want to attract guests during quieter periods, it is often more effective to reframe the experience than simply lower the rate. Instead of focusing only on a cheaper stay, highlight the calm, the extra space, the easier parking, the slower pace, or the chance to enjoy the destination without the crowds.
• Guide guests toward the best-value option
  Not every guest is looking for the cheapest room. Often they are looking for the option that feels safest or smartest. Showing one room or package as the best-value choice, and explaining why in one sentence, can help reduce indecision without reducing price.
• Use scarcity carefully
  Urgency can work, but only if it is truthful. Signals such as limited availability on selected dates can help guests make a decision faster, while exaggerated countdown tactics tend to do the opposite and damage trust.
• Work with local influencers
  Engaging local influencers or ambassadors to showcase the beauty and authenticity of lesser-known destinations through social media can be a useful form of grassroots promotion, especially when it feels genuine and rooted in the place itself.
• Personalized communication
  Staying in touch with guests after their stay by sending relevant updates and personalized offers is one of the most effective ways to build loyalty and encourage repeat business.
• Achieve and promote sustainability
  Working to improve the environmental sustainability of your property is increasingly important for guests who are more sensitive to the impact of their travel choices. For some destinations, this can also become part of a broader positioning strategy.

Strategies for the future of the hospitality sector

Looking ahead, one thing is becoming clearer: occupancy alone is no longer enough as a performance goal.

The broader market outlook also points in this direction. PwC’s UK Hotels Forecast 2025–2026 describes the sector as resilient, but under continued cost pressure and with tighter margins, which makes operational efficiency, flexibility, product mix, and investment in people more important than ever.

For hoteliers, this means strategy needs to become more local, more dynamic, and more disciplined.

In a time when competitiveness depends on the ability to react quickly to demand fluctuations and build more direct, personalized relationships with guests, Smartness can make all the difference for the future of your property.

Smartness is the all-in-one platform for managing hotels, B&Bs, apartments, and vacation rentals, designed to be your operational partner. It doesn’t just provide data or streamline your work. It automates the key activities that drive your growth.

From revenue management to marketing, upselling, cross-selling, and guest communication, Smartness helps you achieve all your growth goals with ease.

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