London 2012 Olympics: 23% of London’s hotel rooms currently vacant for The Games

The figures, taken from 75 hotels surveyed by TravelClick, were released yesterday as many Olympic athletes and officials started arriving in preparation for the event.

Yesterday the average price of a hotel room in the capital between 27 July and 12 August was £189, £4.30 less than the average price taken by TravelClick on 2 July and £21 less than the average price stated by Trivago last week , indicating that hoteliers were dropping prices in order to fill vacant rooms, some of them now available following LOCOG’s recent release of rooms.

Business boost

Despite the remaining vacancies, occupancy is up 40 per cent and the annual daily rate (ADR) is up 70 per cent on the same period last year, indicating that those hotels with bookings may see a boost to business during the Olympics period.

Currently the busiest day in the capital during the Olympics is 4 August when the Women’s 50m Freestyle and 4x100m Medley Relay finals and the Men’s 1500m Freestyle and 4x100m Medley Relay finals will be held. Occupancy for this date is at 82.3 per cent based on current reservations in comparison to last year.

A statement released by business lobbying group CBI London and Transport for London (TfL) today estimates that the capital's businesses may benefit from an extra consumer spend of £750m during the seven week period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

CBI London's Sara Parker and Peter Hendy of TfL said to ensure they make the most of the event, businesses need to be prepared for the disruption it may also cause.

"If you're not one of those who already has a plan, no matter how much or how little you have done to prepare, there is still time," they said.

"The website Getaheadofthegames.com has everything you need to know to plan for the impact that the Olympic and Paralympic Games will have on your business."

While hotels make final efforts to fill rooms, official Olympics caterers Amadeus, Aramark, Arena, Baxter Storey, Compass, Creative Events, Delaware, Global Infusion, Sodexo and Smart are also gearing up to serve 14 million meals at 40 locations during the Games.