Jubilee blamed for fall in occupancies
London hotels this year experienced their worst occupancy levels for June since 1993, according to figures released this week. The downturn was caused by the Golden Jubilee double bank holiday disrupting the market for business travellers, according to consultant PKF.
London occupancy rates were down 6% to 78%. Average room rate fell by 12% to £109.28, reflecting the stronger reliance on tourist and leisure markets. The loss of the high-spending North American market continued to hurt. The BAA passenger count for June 2002 showed that 9.4% fewer Americans flew into the UK compared with last June.
Hotels offering discounts and a greater number of low-paying UK guests caused revenue per available room (revpar) to drop 17% to £85.25.
Outside the capital, occupancy fell 4.4% to 71%, room rate was down 3.4% to £63.52 and revpar dropped 7.7% to £44.97. Again, a reduction in the number of "normal" working days was to blame.
Melvin Gold, managing director of PKF's hotel consultancy services, said: "Although these figures give cause for concern in the short term, the Jubilee is still a plus for hotels in the longer term as positive UK marketing images hit TV screens around the world.
"In London there is a continuing reliance on the domestic market as the only growth area, and it is key that overseas visitors are attracted back. If the Jubilee helps to achieve that, then its ultimate legacy will be more positive than that bestowed on the UK's hoteliers in June."
Consultant TRI Hospitality also released figures last week gathered from 393 UK chain-operated hotels which told the same story of Jubilee disruption. Provincial hotels, which had been holding their own, also fell behind last year.
In the six months to June, overall occupancy at UK chain hotels fell by 1.9 percentage points to 79.8%. Room rate was down by 4.5% to £68.77, and revpar was down by 7% to £47.98.
by Ben Walker
