The South West has long been one of the UK’s most loved destinations — prized for its coastline, countryside, food culture and slower pace of life. As hospitality designers, it is one of the many factors that drew us to the area many years ago. But today, the region stands at a tipping point. Shifts in travel behaviour, housing policy, cost pressures, and guest expectations are reshaping how people stay, where they stay, and what they value. For hotels that understand these changes, the opportunity has rarely been clearer.
Backed by strong tourism data, evolving accommodation needs, and a renewed appetite for authenticity and value, the South West is emerging as one of the most promising hotel markets in the country.
According to Visit Britain, the South West welcomed 15.4 million overnight visitors in 2024, making it the second most visited region after London. But crucially, visitors stay longer. With an average stay of 3.18 nights, the South West generates 49.1 million overnight stays annually — more than any other region in the UK, including London.
In total, the South West accounts for 19% of all overnight stays nationwide, reflecting its role as the UK’s primary destination for long weekends, walking holidays and family breaks. This extended length of stay is particularly attractive for hotel operators, offering higher occupancy potential and stronger yield opportunities than short-stay city markets.
The South West’s appeal extends far beyond scenery. It has long been a creative and cultural powerhouse, shaping British art, design and thinking for more than a century. Artists such as J.M.W. Turner, Bernard Leach, and Barbara Hepworth were all inspired by the region’s light, landscape and craft traditions. Institutions like Dartington Hallplayed a critical role in bringing modernist ideas — including links to the Bauhaus movement — into British culture, with artists such as Henry Moore connected to its experimental legacy.
This heritage still defines the South West today. It remains a magnet for artists, designers, makers and creative businesses, giving towns and villages a richness of character that cannot be manufactured. For hospitality brands rooted in the region, his cultural depth offers an authentic foundation on which to build hotels that feel genuinely of their place, rather than imposed upon it.
The UK has become an expensive place to travel. Rising costs for accommodation, food and transport are changing guest behaviour. Travellers increasingly demand high-quality service and comfort, but they are also far more sensitive to value than they were five years ago.
The South West sits at a critical tipping point. It must now compete not just on beauty and experience, but on affordability without compromise. The future belongs to operators who can deliver:
- Thoughtful design rather than excessive luxury
- Warm, professional service
- Comfortable, flexible accommodation
- Strong food and drink rooted in local produce
Hotels that strike this balance will outperform both high-end luxury properties — which are pricing out many domestic travellers — and low-quality holiday lets, which often fail to meet rising expectations.
For years, second homes and short-term holiday lets dominated coastal towns across Devon and Cornwall. In Salcombe alone, 45.3% of housing stock is either a second home or holiday let.
Following Covid, these numbers surged. However, that trend is reversing. Changes to council tax — including the ability for councils to impose 100% premiums on second homes — are leading to a growing exodus of owners. Tourist hotspots such as Salcombe, Dartmouth and St Ives are seeing more properties returning to the market, easing pressure on housing supply and exposing the limitations of a holiday-let-dominated economy.
This shift opens space for professionally run hotels that can operate year-round, support local employment, and provide accommodation at a scale and consistency holiday lets cannot.
The South West will always be seasonal — and that is not a weakness, but a reality that must be designed for. Successful hotels of the future will need business models that can expand and contract with the seasons.
That means:
- Flexible staffing models
- Rooms and units that can convert between short stays and longer lets
- Outdoor accommodation or ancillary spaces that operate in peak months only
- Events, food, wellness and community uses that sustain the businesses through the changing seasons
In areas like the South Hams, data shows strong demand for longer stays. In 2023, 374,000 trips generated 1.78 million nights, with self-catering averaging 6.26 nights per stay compared to 3.15 nights for serviced accommodation. This suggests a clear opportunity for hotels to offer hybrid models — combining hotel service with layouts suitable for week-long family stays.
While the coast remains dominant, cities such as Plymouth and Exeter are seeing renewed growth. Plymouth, in particular, has rebounded strongly post-Covid, benefiting from regeneration, marine industries and cultural investment. These urban centres help stabilise demand outside peak holiday months, supporting more sustainable year-round hotel performance.
At their best, hotels do far more than provide beds. They are employers, trainers, storytellers and social hubs. Unlike holiday lets — which contribute little beyond rent — hotels create jobs, develop skills, support local suppliers, and help tell the story of a place through food, design and experience.
In rural and coastal communities, well-run hotels can anchor high streets, sustain pubs and restaurants, and reinforce local identity. Guests increasingly value this authenticity — wanting to feel connected to where they are staying, not isolated from it.
The South West’s hotel opportunity is not about volume for volume’s sake. It is about doing hospitality better — more thoughtfully, more flexibly, and more responsibly. With the highest number of overnight stays in the UK, a recalibrating housing market, deep cultural roots, and changing guest expectations, the conditions are right for a new generation of hotels to thrive.
Those that deliver character, quality and value — while supporting the communities around them — will define the South West’s next chapter in hospitality.
