Occupancy and average room rates soar at London hotels

5th January 2010, 11:57am

Occupancy and average room rates grew at London chain hotels in November despite the current climate, according to the latest HotStats survey from TRI Hospitality Consulting.

The sample of 115 full-service London hotels reported a third successive month of average room occupancy growth, increasing year-onyear from 79.3% to 84.0%.

The weak pound, mild winter weather and widespread discounts helped drive the best retail sales in London since October 2006. London remains a top retail destination and, with the sales starting early, November's footfall increased by 3.6% year-on-year.

Jonathan Langston, managing director, TRI Hospitality Consulting., commented on the findings: "November is historically a strong month for branded chain hotels because of the high number of business and conference guests. Coupled with strong leisure visitor numbers and an exceptional retail performance, there is mounting evidence that London is getting to grips with the recession."

Compared to November 2008, RevPAR in London increased from £95.36 to £102.59, equivalent to a 7.6% uplift. Significantly, this marks the first growth in RevPAR since August 2008. However, RevPAR remains 4.4% below the capital's November 2007 performance of £107.33.

Meanwhile in the provinces average room rate, relative to 2008, fell for the 15th consecutive month to £70.48 in November, a decline of 6.4%. Average room occupancy dropped by 1.4 percentage points to 69.1% and rooms revenue declined by 8.3% to £48.73 per available room.

Related Articles:

• 02 Nov 2009 - London hoteliers lead the way
• 28 Oct 2009 - London hoteliers boost profits
• 01 Oct 2009 - European hotels experience a weak August
• 24 Aug 2009 - TRI partners with Visit London
• 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
• 24 Apr 2009 - UK hotels experience heavy falls in profit

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