Heathrow hotels benefit from BA's woes

Hotels around Heathrow swung into action earlier this week to cope with the floods of holidaymakers left stranded after the wildcat strike by British Airways check-in staff.

Thousands of holidaymakers were stuck at the airport for days as British Airways struggled to clear the backlog caused by the unofficial strike, with many airport hotels taking in the overflow.

Wolf Nitschke, general manager of the 866-bedroom Le Méridien Heathrow, estimated it had taken in about 100-150 extra guests a day during the crisis.

"We have been coping very well, but the numbers have really depended from day to day. In some ways it has been good for us, but it has been bad for the passengers," he said.

British Airways had in his opinion worked hard to keep everything moving smoothly and keep both hotels and passengers informed.

Any further strikes over the summer were bound to have an impact on hotels around the airport, he added.

Many other Heathrow hotels reported a similar situation.

The 648-bedroom Renaissance Hotel said numbers had definitely been up.

"We accommodated people as best we could, we gave them whatever we could. You just try to help out," said one manager, who did not want to be named.

At the 459-bedroom Radisson Edwardian there was also an influx of guests looking for a room to stay while waiting to check in.

"But it's not a rarity. When there's cancellations it happens quite a lot of the time," said front-of-house manager Neil Duffin.

by Nic Paton