An Analysis of the Nature,Causes and Marketing Implications of Seasonality in the Occupancy Performance of English Hotels

Time series factor analysis separates two principal components of seasonality from the monthly occupancy time series of 279 English hotels over the period January 1992 to December 1994. The regional patterns of these two components, measuring the nature and intensity of seasonality and length of season, are presented, and their involvement in the occupancy profiles of individual hotels is explained using multiple regression models. The marketing implications of the results are discussed, incorporating the results of a structured interview survey of participating hoteliers.