The new mayor of Greater Manchester, Bev Craig, kicked off her second week in the job by reassuring local businesses that she had growth in mind. The announcement of a £20 million Good Growth High Streets Fund, targeting districts in decline, promises to reopen shuttered commercial units and make high streets thrive. For the hospitality industry, already spades deep in a significant number of hotel developments across the region, could this mean further demand for rooms?
The fund, which will be open to applications from local businesses, business groups and community organisations later this year, is part of a £2 billion Good Growth initiative launched by former mayor Andy Burnham in 2025, designed to support town centre regeneration, housing delivery, employment sites and innovation spaces, plus new transport infrastructure. Regeneration schemes from Stockport to Rochdale have already received allocations, while funded city-centre projects like Sister, Manchester’s innovation hub providing new office and laboratory space, back a growing need for hotels. Transport projects including new Metro stops meanwhile promise to improve connectivity and increase the “investible” area of Greater Manchester, once more in hospitality’s favour.
The sheer quantity of cranes on the horizon already speaks to the region’s ambitions. Yet hospitality experts warn that while the hotel sector is earmarked for long-term success, in the midst of this growth surge, the outlook may involve some short-term pain.
Pipeline dynamics
“If you look at Manchester over the past four years, its hotels have averaged 77 percent occupancy,” says Thomas Emanuel, head of hospitality thought leadership, EMEA, at Savills. “It’s a strong occupancy market and does pretty well. But we have seen RevPAR down in the last two calendar years due to supply-side issues – supply is outpacing the growth of demand.” He notes that the market has even seen negative average daily rate (ADR) growth in recent times, “although 2026 is already looking a bit brighter on the ADR front”. He adds: “The other aspect is that the pipeline is still pretty robust. Going forward, in the centre of Manchester, some 8 percent of existing supply is still in the pipeline; in the surrounding areas, that’s as much as 11 percent in the pipeline and under construction. That implies that the next couple of years represent an ongoing challenge for the market to absorb that supply, although the long-term picture looks rosier.”
There is certainly no shortage of notable flags under development, with a number entering the Manchester market for the first time. Nobu Manchester, a 246-metre landmark tower that will be home to Nobu Restaurant Manchester, Nobu Hotel Manchester with 160 keys and Nobu Residences Manchester, is on track for delivery in 2031. Set to the be the UK’s tallest building outside London, the scheme from Salboy, Nobu Hospitality and construction partner Domis will regenerate a 37,000 square metre brownfield site in a historically industrial downtown location. The brief includes breathing new life into Grade II listed Victorian viaduct arches.
Before that opens, the Salboy, Relentless Developments and Marriott International tie-up for a 162-key W Hotel and 217 W Residences will launch within St Michael’s, with completion expected for late 2027.
IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) is also making its local debut with the takeover of the former Hilton Manchester Deansgate within Beetham Tower, owned by Blue Manchester Hotel Ltd. Set across 22 floors, the new hotel will include 264 guestrooms, an indoor pool, sauna and steam room and fitness centre. The new scheme will also feature 18 meeting rooms catering to social gatherings and MICE opportunities.
Hilton, meanwhile, will expand its Manchester presence to almost 1,500 rooms, including the debut of lifestyle brand, Motto by Hilton, and Manchester’s second Hampton by Hilton. The Hampton by Hilton in Deansgate will offer 358 rooms, making it the largest property offered by the flag in Europe. Motto will add 154 rooms and a restaurant, bar and fitness space to the lively Piccadilly Basin space.
The second Zedwell hotel in the city is also under development, due to be delivered within Church House at 90 Deansgate. The heritage asset will be transformed into a 157-bed property to designs from Buttress Architects, and continues the Criterion Capital strategy of revitalising underused buildings. Says Gavin Sorby, Buttress Managing Director: “A city that has two Premier League sides and can fill a football stadium on a wet Wednesday evening for a concert, needs a broad hotel offer with enough rooms to satisfy the need.”
Sport and leisure
Manchester’s sporting pedigree is certainly a significant draw for tourists and spectators, inspiring adjacent leisure and hospitality spaces.
The Medlock, a Radisson Blu hotel developed in partnership between Manchester City Football Club and Radisson Hotel Group, is the latest puzzle piece in the Etihad Campus district. Due to welcome its first guests in October, the 401-key hotel is flanked by the Co-op Live Arena, and will also feature a zip-wire, sky bar, a host of new food and beverage offerings and a 3000-capacity destination plaza. “The hotel will be a footballing destination for up to 60 days a year, while also serving the Co-op Live Arena, which hosts 180 events annually,” says Suzanne Speak, managing director UK & Ireland, Radisson Hotel Group.
A new stadium for Manchester United is slated to rise in the Trafford Wharfside area as part of a significant refurbishment involving a raft of commercial opportunities. A statement from the football club envisages a “diverse neighbourhood creating 48,000 local jobs and 15,000 new homes, with the new stadium as the catalyst. Together, the mixed-use developments across 150 hectares have the potential to offer a £7.3 billion-per-annum boost to the UK economy”.
Meanwhile, Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground, another multifunctional space comprising a stadium and hotel, has benefitted from ongoing refurbishment drives including the expansion of the Hilton Garden Inn to 250 rooms.
Nearby, Therme Manchester is a notable water, wellness and leisure scheme expected to deliver the largest indoor thermal pool complex in Europe when it launches in 2028. The scheme’s owners, Therme Group, recently unveiled plans to team up with Marriott International to introduce its resorts to Marriott Bonvoy members through the development of travel and lodging packages, as well as working with Marriott Design Lab on new concepts.