The short-term UK build pipeline between 2011 and 2013 is for around 20,000–25,000 new hotel rooms to be built (new rooms at early concept stage, planning, design or construction), of which around 12,000 are expected to be provided in London.

In 2011, the total UK Electronic Security and Active Fire Protection market is estimated to be worth some £2.1 billion at manufacturers selling prices. The UK electronic security and active fire protection market had shown excellent levels of growth until the recent economic recession. However, the lower level of construction across a number of key sectors eroded the value of the market between 2008 and 2010.

Technological developments have continued to drive the replacement market, particularly remote monitoring – including wireless technology, along with fully integrated systems. Increasing competition and a higher level of price competition has resulted in a greater focus on providing a wider range of products and services, including service and maintenance contracts. End-users have become increasingly focused on the overall lifecycle cost of a system including product, installation, operational costs, servicing and management costs.

The market for electronic security and fire protection products in the hotel sector was estimated at £111m in 2010. Demand for electronic security and active fire products in the hotel sector is likely to increase in 2012 with a number of major refurbishments planned for London in the build up to the Olympics and beyond that the pipeline for new hotel rooms remains buoyant.

Overall, electronic security accounts for just over half of the product mix in the hotel sector with CCTV taking the largest share by value. In the fire sector, the share taken by fire extinguishing equipment in the hotel sector is higher than the overall market, primarily due to the wider use of sprinkler systems.

The performance of the London hotel market is expected to improve further, with occupancy levels forecast to rise even higher and profitability likely to increase as corporate demand returns. Major events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 are providing further impetus for growth.  There are early signs of a recovery taking place in the regional hotel market, with cities such as Edinburgh, Cardiff and Birmingham driving growth in 2010. In addition, there will be new opportunities over the next two years, with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow providing a boost to the regions.

It is estimated that the budget hotel sector pipeline will grow by around 5% per annum until 2020, when the estimated number of rooms could reach around 190,000.  The pace of growth in the budget sector is likely to be higher than in non-budget brands, as mid-market hotels continue to suffer the effects of the downturn and a number of these existing hotels are converted or redeveloped to budget brands. This will have obvious knock on benefits for the fire and security markets within hotels over the next few years.

AMA Research’s report “Electronic Security and Fire Protection Products in the Hotel Sector Report - UK 2011-2015 Analysis” is available in hard copy or electronic format for £665 and can be ordered online at www.amaresearch.co.uk or by calling 01242 235724.

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