HOTEL OPPORTUNITIES IN PLYMOUTH
INTRODUCTION From the breath-taking scenery of Plymouth Sound to the rich history of Sir Francis Drake, Charles Darwin and the Mayflower pilgrims, Plymouth is a city defined by the ocean. This ocean side identity and heritage gives the city its unique personality and foundations as a great place to live, work and visit. Plymouth is the premier city in the South West offering a comprehensive, cosmopolitan urban experience. It is the regional centre for shopping, leisure and entertainment. There are 720,000 people living within an hour, 50,000 students, over 5 million annual tourist visits and over 7,250 local businesses. There are strong road and rail connections and an international ferry port; London is three hours away be rail, and two international airports Exeter and Bristol are located just one and two hours away respectively. Confidence in the city is high as Plymouth continues with its ambitious plans for growth and regeneration. Hotel development is a key strategic element of the total city offer and the Council are committed to supporting hotel investment by showcasing the opportunity and facilitating the process. Plymouth welcomes the hospitality and hotel business.
“The best place to live in the country in terms of good schools, clean air, value and quality of housing and access to sparkling sea…” The Guardian 2013
FACTS Plymouth’s economy has grown by 5.1 per cent since 2009, compared to the UK’s 3.2 per cent Plymouth has the largest fishing port in England and one of the largest harbours in Europe Plymouth has one of the threelargest deep water harbours in the world, alongside Sydney and San Francisco Plymouth has four ‘Five Gold Anchor’ marinas with over 1,500 berths The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth is the UK’s largest aquarium, and is home to the largest tank which holds 2.5 million litres of water Home to Brittany Ferries who carry approximately two million passengers per year Royal William Yard is the largest collection of Grade 1 Listed Naval buildings in Europe Theatre Royal Plymouth is the best attended and largest regional producing theatre in the UK, driving £26 million into the local economy every year
HOTEL OPPORTUNITIES Demand Plymouth is the largest port city on the south coast of England, with a resident population of 261,000 and an additional 100,000 in the travel to work area. In 2013, Plymouth had 5.2 million visitors with a total spend of over £337.5 million in the local area; including 89,000 overseas visitors with a total spend of £44.3 million. The tourism sector currently employs 8,625 people, making up 7 per cent of employment in Plymouth. Plymouth has the second highest catchment market share of all UK cities, with £1.4 billion physical comparison goods spend available in the catchment. It is in the top three cities in the South West by comparison goods spend potential, and £103 million catering spend potential by residents.
There are 50,000 students in Plymouth, with 28,000 studying at Plymouth University, one of the largest universities in the country. It is the leading provider of healthcare training in the South West, with its own medical and dental schools. There are currently over 370 pupils studying for Hospitality related degrees, with 80 graduating last year. Plymouth is home to the largest naval base in Western Europe, HM Naval Base Devonport. HMS Raleigh trains over 2,700 people annually, having passing parades 44 weeks per year, with over 400 families attending each ceremony. Brittany Ferries currently transport around 400,000 passengers each year on their Plymouth to Roscoff route, and around 70,000 passengers each year on the Plymouth to Santander route.
“However the excitement surrounding the America’s Cup is not the only reason the city has a spring in its step. Wander the historic streets of this port… and you will see little evidence of the residential construction slowdown which characterises so much of the rest of the country, quite the reverse.” Financial Times
KEY EVENTS The city hosts a number of high-profile events including British Fireworks Championships which brings over 100,000 visitors, MTV Crashes Plymouth which invited world-class acts to perform in the city, and an Ocean City Festival which brought in over 15,000 visitors. Plymouth has also hosted some of the world’s biggest sailing events in recent years, including the America’s Cup World Series, La Route des Princes and Solitaire du Figaro. Rolex Fastnet, which takes place every two years, is the largest offshore race on the planet, and in 2015 had a record fleet with 387 boats and over 4,000 crews participating. Plymouth has been the finishing point for Fastnet yacht race since it began in 1925, celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2015. Transat, one of the world’s top ocean yacht races, returns to its historic Plymouth home in 2016.
Plymouth offers a large range of tourist attractions, including the Plymouth Gin Distillery, The Mayflower Steps, The Pavilions Concert Venue, National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth Hoe and The Theatre Royal. With plans to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower sailing well underway, Plymouth is well on track to increase visitor numbers by 20 per cent by 2020.
PERFORMANCE Tourism Growth There are more than 5 million total visits to Plymouth each year, a compound annual growth rate of circa 5 per cent and a 33 per cent total increase since 2005. Overnight trips account for 750,000 visits, generating around 2.7 million bed nights. The market is led by leisure visits, especially in the high season, with particular demand from coach groups.
Total Visits to Plymouth 2005-13
HOTEL SUPPLY
12
1,000 900
10
800 700
8
600
6
500 400
4
300 200
2
100 -
Budget
2-Star
3-Star
4-Star
5-star
Rooms (2013)
495
111
888
252
-
Hotels (2013)
7
5
10
2
0
0
Number of hotels
Current occupancy rates are very strong with an average annual occupancy at 78 per cent, above the regional UK average of 74 per cent and England average of 77 per cent. Plymouth achieves extremely high occupancies during the summer at over 95 per cent, largely driven by coach tour groups which require larger capacity hotels. Average daily rate is ÂŁ51 and revenue per available room is ÂŁ40.
Current Hotel Supply in Plymouth by Quality Rating 2013
Number of rooms
Plymouth is currently served by a total of 24 hotels with 1,746 bedrooms. The market is dominated by low-mid market stock with 86 per cent of rooms being budget, 2-star or 3-star. Only 8 per cent of hotels and 15 per cent of rooms are 4-star quality. There is no 5-star hotel stock in Plymouth.
OPPORTUNITIES The Plymouth Plan sets out ambitions for “delivering a high quality and high capacity visitor accommodation offer for all visitors in its core tourism and business areas…” by “…working proactively to attract 4 and 5 star and boutique hotels to the city and in particular to its core tourism, waterfront and business areas, filling a current gap in provision in the city’s visitor accommodation offer.”
Ri ve r
Cr u i
s es
34
WH ITE LN
STO KES LN
PIN LANE
25
Opportunity for more big brands Plymouth has a distinctive lack of hotel stock at the higher end of the market. There is a market opportunity to provide higher quality accommodation at the 4 star full service level which the current hotel offer does not sufficiently address.
Plymouth only features one branded 4-star hotel at the moment – the Holiday Inn, part of the Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG). There are no other hotels operating with the benefit of the major distribution systems. Hilton, Starwood, Mariott and Carlson Rezidor are all absent and Accor only has 52 rooms.
KEY SITES The City Council are committed to working with hotel investors/developers/operators who are interested in investing in Plymouth. Priority locations for new hotel developments include:
Sutton Harbour
The City Centre
Railway Station
Millbay
Admiralty House
Royal William Yard
Quality Hotel site
Please see centre spread map for location areas
QUALITY OF LIFE Plymouth is a vibrant city with so much to offer. With its stunning waterfront location, fascinating maritime history, and buzzing city centre, there is quite simply nowhere better to live, work and play. Plymouth is the greenest city in the UK with 40 per cent of the city being green space. Located on the South West Coast Path, the city is situated between two rivers and Plymouth Sound, with Dartmoor National Park to the north. Plymouth’s unique location provides an enviable quality of life, with a great mix of leisure activities on offer. From water sports to cycling, or hiking across Dartmoor to playing golf at one of the nine nearby golf courses, Britain’s Ocean City offers the perfect work life balance.
Plymouth’s ‘Foodie Heaven’ Plymouth offers an enormous array of dining options, living up to its burgeoning reputation as a foodie heaven with award-winning restaurants, food festivals and various food markets. Plymouth is also welcoming celebrity chefs to the city, including Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall’s ‘River Cottage Canteen and Deli’, Gary Rhodes’ ‘Rhodes At The Dome’, Mitch Tonks’ ‘Rockfish Seafood and Chips’ and the Tanner Brothers’ ‘Barbican Kitchen’.
FUTURE INVESTMENTS Mayflower 400 In 2020 Plymouth UK, Plymouth Massachusetts, Leiden in Holland and the wider UK and US communities that have connections through their history will commemorate and celebrate the 400 year anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower. A truly transatlantic cultural celebration fit for a global audience will be created. Mayflower 400 will be full of creative excellence, of history, of political, social and academic discourse, of commercial and economic opportunities.
History Centre The Plymouth History Centre is a major scheme in the heart of Plymouth, a symbol for Plymouth’s current regeneration and a museum for the future. The vision is to transform the existing museum and art gallery into a new £25 million unique visitor attraction. It aims to treble visitor numbers to 300,000, create 216 direct jobs & 60 indirect jobs, have an increase of 35,000 bed nights and increase visitor spend in the city by £25 million.
South Yard The South Yard development will offer 25,000 sq. ft. of flexible employment space and deep water testing facilities suitable for the marine and advanced manufacturing sector. When complete, it is expected to employ over 1,200 people. South Yard has also been announced as an Enterprise Zone, which will bring major benefits for businesses based there including business rate discounts, faster broadband speeds and tax breaks. Business rates will be collected and reinvested into South Yard, speeding up the rate of development of the site; attracting more businesses and generating more growth.
British Land Drake Circus Leisure, wholly owned by British Land, will redevelop the Bretonside Bus Station into a £40 million leisure scheme which will deliver a 12 screen cinema, 14 restaurants and 420 car park spaces next to Drake Circus Shopping Centre. Work on the scheme will start in summer 2016 following completion of the new £4.17 million coach station, and expected to open in spring 2018. Drake Circus Leisure will create 350 permanent jobs for local people, in addition to a number of temporary construction jobs and will be a great benefit to the whole city’s night time economy.
Ocean Studios Ocean Studios is a community interest company, the development in Royal William Yard will encourage artists from all genres to stay and build their portfolios in the city. The £4 million building has created 1,906 sqm of artist workspace, inside there are 31 individual studios, two large open plan areas, specialist and fully equipped workshops in printmaking, cold glass finishing, small scale metals, ceramics and mould making, photography and digital suites.
Plymouth Science Park Phase 5 Plans are underway for the £6.7 million development of Phase 5 at Plymouth Science Park. Themed around an IT hub, the 30,000 sq. ft. development will be an iconic building a home to 11 IT and digital businesses employing over 200 people. The IT hub will offer state-of-the-art office space and the best ICT infrastructure in the city, including sector leading superfast broadband connectivity and network resilience.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT US E: invest@plymouth.gov.uk T: 01752 305995 www.investinplymouth.co.uk Economic Development Plymouth City Council Ballard House Plymouth PL1 3BJ