London hotels
increased rates by 7 percent in the first half of the year, and hotels
elsewhere in the United Kingdom are poised to follow suit, according to a
report issued this week by Deloitte.
From January through June, occupancy in London hotels reached 78.9 percent, up
2.1 percent from the same period in 2009, the report indicated. As a result of
the rate and occupancy increases, London hotels saw revenue per available room
increase by 9.3 percent during those months, and the city's hotels are on track
to see RevPAR grow by 10.4 percent in 2010, according to Deloitte.
"With the latest Deloitte CFO Survey showing financial optimism among many
chief financial officers falling to a 12-month low, and many seeing a growing
risk of a double-dip recession, it is comforting to know that London's
hoteliers remain resilient and are implementing the right pricing strategies to
fast-track the recovery process," Deloitte hospitality managing partner
Marvin Rust said in a statement.
Outside of London, U.K. hoteliers continued to see rates drop during the first
half of the year, down 2.3 percent from 2009 levels. Occupancy was up 4.2
percent, however, so the hotels reported a 1.7 percent increase in RevPAR. Deloitte's
report said that the occupancy turnaround indicated that recovery was beginning
in the United Kingdom's regions.
Smith Travel Research Global has forecast a 5.3 percent increase in RevPAR for
the rest of the United Kingdom in 2010, though Rust said corporate fiscal
tightening and government spending cuts could lower that level.