Despite difficult conditions, the hotel sector performed well in 2007 according to a new report.

Property agent Colliers Robert Barry’s annual Hotel Market Review found that the hotel industry experienced steady growth, in the face of the smoking ban, summer storms and “of course, the much-hyped credit squeeze”.

The sector’s success, the company claims, is down to continuing demand from well-funded purchasers; the idea that newcomers to the industry place as much emphasis on lifestyle choices as they do on investment returns; that hotel values are driven by trading performance, which remains healthy, and that many major hotel companies are committed to long term expansion.

The report said that average turnover per bedroom reached a plateau between 2006 and 2007 for all types of hotel rooms, with an average figure of around £23,600.

Growth for hotels predominantly occurred in Scotland. The average sale price per bedroom in 2007 remained “virtually identical” to that seen in 2006, at around £66,500 for all hotel types. Despite sale prices on country hotels rising by just over 13 per cent, buyers were not deterred.

While Scotland performed well, the South West region continued to outgrow all other regions in the last 12 months.