Tourism Profile in the South East

Hotel Supply

Guildford has a total of 15 hotels with just over 750 rooms; two thirds of this supply (9 hotels, 460 rooms) is in Guildford itself, the rest in the surrounding area of the Borough.

Guildford Hotel Supply — by Standard — July 2004
Standard Estabs Rooms % of Rooms Av. Size of Hotel (Rooms)
4 star 1 167 22 167
3 star 7 393 52 56
2 star - - - -
Budget 1 87 12 87
Non-inspected — 2/3 star/ Budget equivalent 1 22 3 22
Diamond Rated/ Lower Grade Non-inspected 5 82 11 14
Total Supply 15 751 100.0 50

Over half of the supply is of 3 star standard; there is only one 4 star hotel — the Holiday Inn — and one budget hotel, the Premier Travel Inn, both located out-of-town near the A3. There is only one hotel of over 100 rooms.

Guildford Hotels — 2004
Hotel Location Rooms Grading
Holiday Inn Guildford Guildford 167 4 Star
Carlton Guildford 72 3 Star
Angel Posting House Guildford 21 3 Star Town House
Jarvis Guildford Guildford 46 3 Star
Premier Travel Inn Guildford 87 Budget
Crawford House Guildford 14 Lower grade
Blanes Court Guildford 18 3 Diamond
Clavadel Guildford 20 3 Diamond
Quinns Guildford 15 Lower grade
Manor House Newlands Corner 50 3 Star
Ramada Guildford/ Leatherhead East Horsley 87 3 Star
Ramada Jarvis Farnham Seale 96 3 Star
Hurtwood Inn Peaslake 21 3 Star
Worplesden Place Worplesden 22 2/3 Star equivalent
Hillside Worplesden 15 4 Diamond

Hotel Demand

Demand for hotel accommodation is strong. 4 star hotel performance is akin to that of North Surrey large hotels, with occupancy in the region of 75%. Budget hotel performance is similar to — if not above — that of Surrey budgets generally, which in 2003 was 88%+.

Guildford 3 star occupancies range between 62% and 70%; weekday occupancies are high, 80-100%, with weekends at 40-50%. Achieved room rates for 3 star hotels in 2004 were around £70. The only town house hotel, the Angel, considerably exceeds this. Business demand accounts for 70-80% of rooms sold. Corporate demand is drawn from Guildford, Woking and Leatherhead. Corporate rates are around £90. There is some leisure break business; also business generated by the University. Hotels are denying business mid-week, and turning away some residential conference business.

Hotel Development Opportunities

Guildford is an identified growth hub in the Regional Economic Strategy and South East Regional Plan. This means the town will be a focus for investment and economic growth, and will benefit from improved investment in communications to support this growth and activity. The prospects for investment in the hotel sector in the light of the business demand this will create are good. These include: