London hotels have been enjoying their highest occupancy levels since September 2000, according to Deloitte’s latest HotelBenchmark.

Last month, hotels in the capital achieved occupancy of 83%, compared with 81.8% in September 2003.

Over the first nine month of the year, occupancy grew by 7 percentage points to 77%, while revenue per available room (revpar) rose by 14% – or £9 – to £73.

The biggest increase was found among hotels targeting the corporate traveller and business conference markets with bedrooms priced between £160 and £200. They boosted revpar over the first nine months by 19% to £130.

“With costs under control, London’s hoteliers will benefit this year from the sharp rebound in room nights sold at higher average rates,” said Marvin Rust, hospitality partner at Deloitte.

“I expect the momentum to be maintained in the final quarter, with further growth in revpar to follow in 2005.”

Outside the capital, airport hotels have fared well during the three months to 30 September, when they boosted occupancy by 5 percentage points to 78%.

Budget hotels also performed strongly and increased both occupancy and room rates.

The UK has outperformed Europe over the past nine months, when its 9% rise in revpar was double the European average.

by Angela Frewin

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