A new study has highlighted the need for more hotels in Kent with supply of Airbnb properties in some coastal areas rocketing by 450% as visitors seek accommodation.

The interim results come from research organised by tourism champions Visit Kent and inward investment agency Locate in Kent.

Key findings reveal there are no five-star hotels in the county, just 30 properties have more than 100 bedrooms and while 77% of Kent is classified as rural, only 14% of hotel beds are located in rural areas.

The research was carried out by Canterbury Christ Church University over the summer with a full, final, report published later this year.

The review, which identifies the current gaps in Kent’s hotel provision, will also look at the opportunities for future growth and support an ongoing drive by Visit Kent to increase levels of overnight stays for leisure and business travel in a county that has seen its leisure and business visitor economy soar by more than £1.2bn in the past decade.

In terms of performance in specific areas of Kent and Medway the 2017 Cambridge Model Economic Impact Study - the industry standard measurement used to calculate the economic impact on an area from tourism - identifies Canterbury district as the lead destination for business bed nights per year (485,000) followed by Maidstone (301,000) and Thanet (236,000).

Canterbury also leads for holiday bed nights with over 1.4m stays per year followed by Folkestone and Hythe district (909,000) and Dover district (875,000).

Thanet, according to Airdna data, saw Airbnb properties increase by 450% over the past three years to meet the demand created by an 8.6% growth in visitors

David Curtis-Brignell, deputy chief executive of Visit Kent said: "Kent has a strong visitor offer – 350 miles of coastline, countless world-famous heritage sites and events, and new high-end products such as the Wine Garden of England partnership.

“Our visitor economy has grown by over £1bn in the past decade. Our forward strategy centres around growing the quality and range of experiences to encourage visitors to spend more with local businesses and increase the number of overnight stays.

“We recognise the need to provide quality accommodation at all levels and so we commissioned new research to assess the current and future supply and demand across Kent.

“The results show that there are clear growth hotspots across the county which present an opportunity to address the lack of quality serviced accommodation and higher capacity properties to provision in rural locations. This represents a clear opportunity for developers to look at Kent as a priority investment location.”

Visit Kent has identified business travel, meetings and conferences as a growth sector that will deliver strong year-round occupancy.

Its chief executive, Gavin Cleary, added: "Having quality hotel accommodation near to some of the strategic sites we’ve identified at Locate in Kent is a win-win, for both business growth and hotel sector growth.

“What has emerged from the review carried out by Locate in Kent in close conjunction with local authorities across Kent is a range of different potential investment sites across a number of categories – from seafront properties in Margate and heritage sites in Canterbury to existing and new golf course sites. There’s now a real opportunity for investors to meet demand.

“Pipeline developments in Kent include the ambitious vision for the London Resort on the Swanscombe peninsula and exciting film studio proposals at the Newtown Works site in Ashford.

“Recent investments like Curious Brewery in Ashford and the staging of the 149th Open at Sandwich in 2020 demonstrates a continued commitment across Kent and Medway to providing a world-class visitor offer – and a thriving and diverse range of hotels and other serviced accommodation to support that.”

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