Music awards keep Edinburgh's hoteliers happy
Some £1.5m-worth of hotel rooms was sold in Edinburgh last Thursday as many of the world's biggest pop stars descended on the city for the MTV Europe music awards.
According to preliminary findings from Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian, a Government-funded economic development agency, some 7,000 hotel rooms were booked on the night of the awards, boosting occupancy by almost a quarter to 98%.
Occupancy at Sir Rocco Forte's Balmoral hotel was 100% on the night of the event, with pop divas Beyoncé Knowles and Kylie Minogue both staying at the five-star property.
The Glasshouse, one of the newest and most modern hotels in the city, was also fully booked, and couldn't even find a room for hostess Christina Aguilera.
Edinburgh's smaller hotels also reported increased occupancies, as up to 700 journalists from around the world descended on the city.
The 100-bedroom Malmaison in Leith did not have any celebrity guests, despite speculation that Madonna would stay, but gained extra business putting up MTV production staff. "We were running at 80% occupancy, which for the first week in November is really good. It also meant we finished October on a high," said general manager Lizzy Kelk.
The event is estimated to have generated up to £4m for Edinburgh's local economy.
