Hotel Rooms in London Still Available

According to Moody’s study the hotel sector can expect very positive revenue per room numbers during and around the events. The room rate in London hotels has risen 6.58 percent in February 2012 comparing with the same month last year. While some hotels will undoubtedly raise rates to benefit from demand, many are reportedly adopting alternative tactics such as imposing minimum stays or stricter cancellation policies. Inevitably, though, hotels will struggle to report positive comparable results in the same period in 2013. London & Partners, the official promotional organization for London predicts another 10 percent growth in numbers of visitors through 2015.

Moody’s report revealed that in 2005, at the request of London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the hotel industry set aside 40,000 rooms  of a total of 110,000 rooms in London at agreed rates, to accommodate workers associated with the Olympics and Paralympic Games (administrators, media, sports federations, sponsors). In January 2012, 8,000 of these rooms were handed back, boosting the availability for the general public.

InterContinental Hotels Group is the official hotel provider for athletes during the Games. It is opening one of its higher-end hotels (Staybridge Suites London Stratford Property) as one of the Games’ on-site hotels. IHG said it hopes to generate additional revenues from related services.

Accor referred to the Games, as well as UEFA European Football Championship and the calendar of fairs in Germany and France, as being “favourable drivers” in its 2012 outlook. Marriot Hotels similarly predict benefits from the Games at a time when the European outlook is otherwise weak. The company stated in its full-year 2011 results that government-related travel represents an estimated 10% of the country’s lodging industry demand in continental Europe and that it expects government austerity measures will have a negative effect on demand.

According to London’ s Tourism Office more than 10,000 new rooms have been build in London in anticipation of Olympics and other major events that take place in London this year. One month before the beginning of the Games there are still rooms available for all types of budget. The rates start at ￡85 for a brand-new hotel. “Many hotels and hotel chains have committed to keep the prices fair,” said the representative of Tourism Office.

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