London hotels fare worse than regions

Hotels outside London are doing better business than those in the capital despite the impact of foot-and-mouth, says a survey from TRI Hospitality Consulting.> The HotStats UK chain hotels market review, which looked at a sample of 405 three- and four-star hotels, found a nationwide fall in hotel occupancy rates of 2.3 percentage points in June compared with the same period last year. The results reflect findings of a PKF report published earlier this week. The HotStats survey found a stark difference between June occupancy rates in London and the provinces. Hotels outside London showed only a 1.6 percentage point decline compared with a 6.3 percentage point fall in occupancy in the capital. The report noted that the London hotel market was being adversely effected by the lack of demand for accommodation from US business travellers because of the economic slowdown in the USA. Trevor Ward, joint managing director at TRI, said the lower figures in London were the result of a lack of overseas guests: "London and the provinces are very different animals," he said. "London is a worldwide destination. 80% of guests in hotels are from overseas. In the provinces 92% are from the UK." Ward refused to be pessimistic: "Last year was a good year and we have to keep it in proportion. London hotels are still doing well," he said. Despite a solid performance by the provincial hotels in the first half of the year, TRI claims conditions will get tougher in the second half of the year because of economic slowdown in the USA and Europe. Ward said he would expect an upturn in occupancy rates in the autumn but added that it all depends on the health of the economy.