How's Business 2025

FEBRUARY 2025

Key results
February 2025 saw 53% of all businesses in each case experiencing decreased visitors/customers and turnover compared with the same time last year – representing decreases of -8% and -7% respectively compared with February 2024.

Occupancy levels for serviced accommodation, at 26%, have increased compared with February 2024 (23%) whilst self catering occupancy, at 20%, has decreased compared with February 2024 (31%).

63% of businesses currently anticipate a decreased business performance for April 2025 (when the Easter holidays fall) based on their forward bookings at the time of completing the survey. For the two-week Easter period at a regional level, we currently anticipate UK staying visitors to be down on last year and overseas staying visitors slightly up which will see staying trips down overall. However, we anticipate increased day visitor activity which will lead to the period overall being slightly up on last year which we would usually expect with the later holiday period this year compared to last. The weather will be a key factor in this!

At 70% each, businesses are currently most concerned about rising energy costs (an increase of 13% compared with October 2024) and decreasing visitor numbers/booking levels (an increase of 11% compared with October 2024), increases in other business costs e.g. food and other business supplies etc. (67%, an increase of 15% compared with October 2024) and increases in the cost of living generally (67%, a decrease of -3% compared with October 2024).

At 4.89 out of 10.00 the optimism score has increased considerably since the end of the year (4.49 Nov/Dec 2024) and to its highest level since July 2024 (5.00). Whilst times remain very challenging for businesses, particularly as the changes to employers NI contributions/thresholds and the increase in the national minimum wage and national living wage have now come into effect in April, performance has remained relatively consistent again this month with much lower decreases in visitors/customers and turnover compared with February 2024 and, encouragingly, performance has remained relatively steady over the last four months.

Occupancy levels for serviced accommodation have increased compared with February 2024 and business optimism has also increased to its highest level for six months.

Download the full report here.