With just three months until the London 2012 Olympics the hotel market intelligence provider has revealed room rates and demand for rooms during the Games is continuing to grow.
TravelClick says demand for accommodation is currently around two and a half times more than hoteliers would normally expect during a traditional summer season.
However committed occupancy, actual rooms reserved, during the Olympics is currently at 55.4 per cent showing most London hotels are still to fill their rooms for the Olympics. Unsurprisingly the busiest day in London during the games is the night of August 3 with a number swimming finals followed by a busy Saturday in the athletics stadium including the women’s 100m sprint final. Even then, occupancy sold stands at 58.6 per cent.
TravelClick are advising hoteliers to manage their rates and avoid overpricing their rooms in the hope of full occupancy. On the night of the closing ceremony average London room rates are nearly double what they were in 2011 but occupancy remains below 50 per cent.
Reassessing expectations
In February BigHospitality reported hoteliers were reassessing expectations for business during the Olympics following a release of a number of rooms reserved by the London 2012 organising committee (LOCOG) and after learning lessons from the Royal Wedding when some venues had expected to be full but were not.
In a short audio podcast a representative of London's promotional body London & Partners and two hoteliers said modifying expectations and constantly looking at room rate against demand was the key to success during the Games.
At the beginning of the year hoteliers reported a mixed prediction of the impact the Olympics would have on the industry. A survey of UK-based Choice Hotel owners, operators and general managers indicated just over half thought all UK hotels would benefit from the Games while a sizeable amount thought only those in or near the capital would see the positive impacts.