London hotels hit by credit crisis

24th October 2008, 10:41am

Occupancy and profit fell at London chain hotels in September, according to the latest HotStats survey from TRI Hospitality Consulting.

The survey of 108 London hotels reported a 10.9% drop in profit. Average occupancy fell year-on-year from 86.8% to 82.7%.

The crisis in the banking sector has had a negative impact on five-star hotels in Docklands and the City in particular. This contributed to the 42. percentage fall in average occupancy.

Meanwhile high-paying corporate bookings contributed to a 1.9% drop in daily achieved average room rate to £118.20. Revenue per available room also fell by 6.6% to £97.94.

Jonathan Langston, from TRI, commented: "September's events were unprecedented and had a direct impact on some hotels in London's financial district. With mounting evidence that the credit crisis is now feeding into all aspects of the global economy, competition for business is likely to intensify for all London hotels."

Meanwhile in the provinces, occupancy and profit also fell last month. Average occupancy dropped by 2.2 percentage points to 76.6% and daily income before fixed charges declined by 10.2% to £41.01 per available room.

Among the UK's major cities, Liverpool and Manchester were the only markets to report increases in average occupancy.  

Related Articles:

• 18 Aug 2009 - UK hotel general managers remain positive
• 28 Jul 2009 - Occupancy levels hold up at London hotels
• 25 Jun 2009 - Recession has less impact on UK hotels
• 22 May 2009 - London occupancy stays above 80%
• 28 Apr 2009 - Lower hotel room rates keep occupancy high
• 27 Apr 2009 - UK hotel managers are more optimistic
• 24 Apr 2009 - UK hotels experience heavy falls in profit
• 25 Mar 2009 - Profit down by 17% at London hotels

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