With approximately 5,700 pubs currently offering rooms, RBPI’s 2013 Pub Accommodation report found that the sector has “great potential” for growth and improvement in standards.
The report, based on a comprehensive survey of the UK pub accommodation market, showed that just over half of all pubs are planning to refurbish their rooms within the next year.
It found that if ‘pubs with accommodation’ was a single brand, it would be the second largest in the UK, behind Premier Inn. It also claimed that if pubs were to achieve the same level of occupancy and room rates as provincial hotels, combined turnover for the sector could reach £750m.
The report said the perception of the sector is changing as pubs start to up their game to compete with other accommodation providers.
This, it argued, is reflected in the fact that almost double the number of people would prefer to stay in a pub, as opposed to a branded hotel.
It said: “For a long time there has been under-investment in accommodation in pubs.The tide is now turning, with RPBI finding that pub companies are quietly spending money on acquiring, adding and upgrading rooms, resulting in a new phase of growth for the pub industry.
“Pubs have always offered accommodation. It is hardly a new market. But, with all the focus on food and other industry issues, this potentially lucrative revenue stream has often been overlooked. That is starting to change and pub owners and pub companies are putting more focus on rooms.
“Pubs will need to wait longer to see a return on their money than other, more immediate investments. But, done well, this is a long-term revenue source for the pub industry and a way of maximising the value of properties.”