Secondary cities growing in popularity

Cambridge, Liverpool and Nottingham complete top 5

HomeLike, Europe’s leading online platform for mid- to long-stay accommodation, has reported a boom in bookings for Manchester and Edinburgh as the cities show strong competition against leading business travel destination, London.

Historically the majority of Homelike’s customers have sought accommodation in the capital with London usually enjoying 80% of all bookings taking through the platform. However, in the past 12 months this has dropped considerably to just 65%, with Manchester and Edinburgh picking up the slack, closely followed by Cambridge, Liverpool and Nottingham.

HomeLike’s typical client in the UK is very equally split between business travellers (39%) and those seeking to relocate (35%). Country Manager for UK and Ireland, Cherry Wang commented: “The growth in the market of the UK’s second cities is not really a surprise. For many years now, big businesses have been relocating to smaller cities, as they offer cheaper rents for offices etc. Naturally the need for accommodation for staff will follow - whether that be mid week stays for them away from home, or a more long-term solution as employees seek temporary accommodation while hunting for a permanent base. Our range of properties offers the ideal solution for either problem. We have properties that are bijou and compact for solo tenants through to huge houses with gardens and outdoor space that might be better suited to families.”

In addition to the change in locations, HomeLike’s trends also point towards greater planning when it comes to properties that offer instant bookings. The average booking window has jumped from just 28 days in 2020 to 40 days in advance in 2021, a rise of 44%.

Flexible cancellation policies have also become particularly desirable in a post Covid era, now accounting for almost 60% of all bookings, compared to just 35% pre-2020.

For more information visit: www.thehomelike.com