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England Accommodation stock audit

See the results of our 2016 census, measuring the volume, type and category of accommodation across England.

Introduction

We regularly undertake an accommodation census, to give us the best possible measure of accommodation stock – encompassing both serviced and non-serviced offerings. For further information, please contact research@visitengland.com.

Serviced accommodation census results (2016)

See the 2016 audit of serviced accommodation establishments across England, with results segmented by area and stock type. Various resources were used to compile this report, including VisitEngland’s accommodation database, regional tourism agencies and data from commercial organisations. It was published in 2016.

Report highlights

  • England had 33,374 serviced accommodation establishments – offering a total of 786,775 bedrooms and 1,768,795 bedspaces.

  • The largest proportion was hotels and motels (11,590), closely followed by bed and breakfasts (10,447).

  • The South West had the highest number of accommodation establishments (7,172), totalling 109,682 bedrooms and 244,187 bedspaces.

 

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Serviced accommodation census results 2016.pdf

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Non-serviced accommodation census results (2016)

See the 2016 audit of non-serviced accommodation establishments across England, with results segmented by area and stock type. Various resources were used to compile this report, including VisitEngland’s accommodation database, regional tourism agencies and data from commercial organisations. It was published in 2016.

Report highlights

  • There were 31,845 non-serviced accommodation establishments in England; by region, the South West had the highest volume (11,988).

  • The most common stock type was holiday dwellings, with 27,689 establishments in England (87%), followed by tourist campsites (3,134) and other collective establishments (1,022).

  • The North West had 4,909 non-serviced accommodation establishments, followed by the South East (4,742) and Yorkshire (2,865).

 

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PDF

Non-serviced accommodation census results 2016.pdf

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Accommodation stock audit (2016)

See the total accommodation stock in English counties, covering both serviced and non-serviced offerings – segmented by establishment type, room volume and bedspaced. This report was published in 2016.

Report highlights

  • By region, Greater London had the highest number of bedspaces (488,342), with 448,160 serviced and 40,182 non-serviced.

  • In Greater Manchester, there were a total of 31,328 rooms – 30,132 of which were in serviced accommodation, and 1,196 in non-serviced.

  • In terms of overall volume of both serviced and non-serviced accommodation, regions of note included Devon (6,253 establishments), Cornwall (5,585), Cumbria (5,286) and North Yorkshire (4,241).

 

View the report

Accommodation Stock Audit 2016.xlsx

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About the report

This census included:

  • All Quality Assessed accommodation.

  • Accommodation listed in external business databases.

  • Accommodation registered with regional delivery partners (regional tourist boards, regional development agencies and sub-regional partners).

Because the business landscape is constantly changing, not all businesses were listed in the sources we used and it was not always possible to source detailed information about numbers of rooms and bed-spaces.

It is difficult to know the exact size of the sector because there is no compulsory registration scheme for accommodation establishments in the UK. However, we are confident that our census captured the vast majority of accommodation businesses and provided a good estimate of accommodation stock in England.