November trade boost for London and regional hotels

According to figures released by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services, those in London saw room rate rise 10.5 per cent to £147.54 on November 2009, while occupancy rose 0.3 per cent to 86 per cent.

This attributed to a rooms yield increase of 10.8 per cent on last November’s results.

Regionally, hotels delivered a mixed but generally positive set of results, with occupancy up 4 per cent to 69.6 per cent. Room rate fell however from £63.16 to £63.74, although rooms yield still increased by 5 per cent to £44.34.

Robert Barnard, partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF, said: “November appeared to be a generally steady month across the board which is great for the industry.

“The December figures could be more interesting as the majority of the snow disruption fell into this month. This can be both good and bad for hoteliers, with some losing out on bookings because travellers cannot get to their destination, while others benefit from stranded passengers looking for a bed for the night.

“Looking into 2011, I have mentioned previously that the government’s spending cuts are likely to impact regional hotels, but on the flip side, for London, the royal wedding could provide a welcome boost.”

Business travel​

Further information released by consultancy HVS London, showed that while 2011’s events would act as major attractions for inbound tourism, business travel is also set to grow next year.

“The signs are that corporate travel budgets have increased for 2011,” said Russell Kett, managing director for HVS London. “As business bookings improve, we would then expect the meetings and conferences sector to pick up as well.”