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London hotels record 2nd highest occupancy of 2009 in October
UK Chain Hotels Market Review – October 2009

London records second highest occupancy of 2009
With a year-on-year increase of 1.5 percentage points in October 2009, to 85.1%, the London hotel market recorded the second highest occupancy performance for the capital in 2009,according to the latest HotStats survey by industry experts TRI Hospitality Consulting. In addition to demand created by visitors to the capital attracted by the ongoing strength of the Euro against the Pound and the long forgotten ‘Indian Summer’, room occupancy levels in London in October were boosted by a catalogue of major events including the 53rd Film Festival. The staggering London room occupancy, as well as a year-on-year decrease in average room rate of less than five per cent, helped to reduce the margin of decline in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) to its lowest level since July 2008, at only 3.2%.
“Although we are dealing with softer comparables in the fourth quarter of 2008, the continued improvements in headline performance in London are encouraging,” said Jonathan Langston, managing director, TRI Hospitality Consulting.
London also showed continuing signs of improvement in the profitability of its hotels. Despite hoteliers struggling to manage payroll costs as effectively as in September 2009, the year-onyear margin of decline in Gross Operating Profit per available room (GOP PAR) was reduced to 4.5% for the month of October.
Following an occupancy of 75.7% in September 2009, a room occupancy of approximately 73.6% in October continued a strong autumnal period for hoteliers in the UK provinces. In addition, provincial average room rate in the month of October 2009 experienced its smallest margin of decline (7.6%) since the beginning of the year to £69.29, from £74.95 in 2008.
However, the rate gap remains an issue and may be primarily attributed to the continued decline in the number of high-yielding business travellers to the UK.
“UK hoteliers have sacrificed room rate whilst successfully managing volume and costs and as a result, provincial GOP PAR declines are the lowest they have been since September 2008,” added Langston.
For more information contact:
Jonathan Langston, managing director
020 7486 5191
jonathan.langston@trihc.com
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