With exactly 100 days to go until the start of the 2012 Olympics in London, hotel industry experts are predicting occupancy to to be at 84 per cent in the capital and 72 per cent in hotels outside it despite earlier fears that the event may not bring the high volumes of guests expected.
Liz Hall, head of hospitality and leisure research at PwC said London's hoteliers should expect a 'record year' with predicted revpar growth of 2.8 per cent.
"All eyes will be on London this summer as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Games attract the world’s interest. And without the boost to Q3 from the London 2012 Games, London hotels would have been looking at a poor year with the impact of the harder trading environment being felt more keenly," she said.
"For London in Q3 we expect occupancy to hit almost 92 per cent and with rates at £156 pushing revpar to almost £144, a growth rate of over 21 per cent over Q3 2011."
Rising figures
Figures for hotels in the capital are already on the rise this year. PKF Hotel Consultancy Services found that room rates at hotels in London rose 7.6 per cent in March to £131.93, compared with £122.65 for the same month in 2011.
Even better figures have been recorded by hotel price comparison website Trivago for April. The average room rate in London has risen 7 per cent to £164, meaning the city is the third most expensive in Europe behind Venice and Geneva. The average room rate also rose in Edinburgh (8 per cent to £102) and Brighton (5 per cent to £107).
Outside of London PKF found that a 3.1 per cent rise in occupancy from 66.8 per cent to 68.9 per cent led to an increase in rooms yield to £41.52, compared with £40.89 12 months ago. However, room rate fell by 1.5 per cent over the period, from £61.19 in March 2011 to £60.28.
Robert Barnard of PKF, said: “The London hotel sector is shaping up well for a strong year. Looking ahead, the capital’s hotels are ideally placed to benefit from what could become a golden summer, with the Olympics now just 100 days away and the growing excitement surrounding the jubilee celebrations.
“Regional hotels deserve credit for posting rooms yield growth in March. The market outside London remains tough but these figures provide some grounds for optimism for the future.”