Forward STAR shows the Commonwealth Game impact on Birmingham

Events have offered a much-needed lifeline to hotels as the industry emerges from the pandemic. Through Forward STAR, we can measure the advance impact of these large-scale events, such as the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

The Commonwealth Games is a multi-national sporting event which brings together athletes from 72 nations. The 2022 rendition of the games will take place throughout the city of Birmingham between 28 July and 8 August 2022 with large crowds of spectators, athletes and events staff expected. In this latest analysis, we look ahead at occupancy on the books for Birmingham and its individual hotel classes. We also look back to how another U.K. city, Glasgow, performed when it held the games in 2014.

STR is uniquely positioned to combine both historical and forward-looking data for major hotel markets around the globe.

Occupancy & Pickup on the rise

The Birmingham Centre submarket, as defined by STR, has shown positive short-term bookings levels as the U.K. has returned to a sense of normalcy, with occupancy on the books as high as 68% in the coming weeks. However, as is the case with many U.K. submarkets, 2022 is not yet showing signs of high bookings with occupancy on the books as low as 2% for days throughout January and February. Fast forward to July and August, and there is a significant spike around the Commonwealth Games with forward hotel occupancy peaking at 55% on 5 August. Knowing that booking windows have shortened because of the pandemic, there is reasonable expectation for levels to grow higher as we get further into 2022.

Pickup, the uptake in levels from one reporting period to the next, is also on the rise, never dropping below 6% for the event dates as of this last data update. We also see pickup reaching 15% just 2 weeks prior to the opening ceremony, which indicates recent bookings from events staff and broadcasters, who arrive well before the event.

Which class is going for gold?

When examining forward hotel occupancy by class, we see Upscale properties with the highest levels during the Commonwealth Games. At the same time, Midscale properties are showing the lowest occupancy on the books. It will be interesting to monitor the bookings dynamic by class of hotel as we get closer to the event and guests of different profiles enter the equation.

Glasgow 2014

The 2022 games will be the first in the U.K. since 2014, when they were hosted in Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow. STR’s historical data offers a fascinating insight into the city’s performance in the leadup and days of the games. Upon examining this data, we can see that once the competition had commenced, occupancy levels peaked at 98% and didn’t drop below 93% while the games were in progress. Glasgow also performed strongly in the leadup with occupancy sitting at 79% a month out from the closing ceremony.

Conclusion

COVID-19 is likely to still have some impact on industry performance even into the second half of 2022, so it would be understandable if Birmingham’s hotel occupancy levels don’t reach quite as high as Glasgow in 2014. However, given the significant number of bookings already coming through for the 2022 games, Birmingham is no doubt positioned to enjoy a high influx of bookings. With the Commonwealth baton relay now making its way around the globe, there is a growing sense of excitement. For the sporting world, this is one of the first global events that will be welcoming back large crowds post-pandemic.

For more information about our occupancy on the books data, check out Forward STAR