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Olympic test events give London hotels a major boost

Hotels in London achieved a fifth consecutive month of strong profit growth in May as rehearsals for London’s summer of celebration got under way.

With the beginning of the London Olympics now being measured in days rather than months, the statistics for May suggest that leisure visitors to the city are fuelling a consistent year-on-year increase in headline performance levels.

In May, room occupancy increased by 1.5 per cent to a staggering 84.1 per cent, according to the latest HotStats survey of approximately 560 full-service hotels across the UK by TRI Hospitality Consulting.

Demand in the city was boosted by Olympic test events throughout the month,.

Despite increases in achieved rate in the corporate (+2.5 per cent) and conference (+5.2 per cent) segments, the city’s hoteliers have witnessed a cumulative 4 percent decline in the proportion of demand attributed to these sectors as business visitors have unsurprisingly become more wary about visiting the capital as the Olympics threatens to negatively impact business activity.

“Whilst we have yet to see much sun, we are well into the summer of celebration, which London hoteliers have been hoping will drive the demand for hotel accommodation and allow for increases in headline performance levels.

“So far in 2012, performance records have been consistently smashed. The London hotel market refuses to slow down as the main event moves into sight but in the coming months the hotel industry will provide a real barometer of the benefit these events will have on businesses in the capital and beyond,” said Jonathan Langston, TRI’s managing director.