North East Surrey — the area taking in Leatherhead, Dorking, Epsom, Redhill and Reigate — has a total of 24 hotels offering just over 900 rooms. Almost half of this supply is in budget hotels (Travelodge, Premier Travel Inn and Innkeepers Lodge), with the most recent of these to open being the 96 room Travelodge at Leatherhead (May 2004). 3 and 4 star hotels make up nearly 40% of the supply; however these are mostly small hotels.
Budget hotels in this area are performing on a par with country averages (87-88%). No area-specific data is available for 3 and 4 star hotels in North East Surrey.
Considering the number of companies in this area, it is surprising that there are so few hotels serving this market. There would seem to be potential for further hotel development in Redhill/Reigate based on the limited supply of quality accommodation and the amount of corporate demand being displaced to Gatwick. This area is also to be the focus of economic growth in the South East Plan and Regional Economic Strategy. Similarly in Leatherhead, the town is poorly served despite the number of corporates based here, and demand is being displaced to hotels in Epsom. Epsom hotels themselves are consistently turning away business.
In terms of development potential in Surrey North East there would seem to be scope for: