London hotels leading Europe out of recession, says report

London is leading European hotels out of the recession, according to business advisory firm Deloitte.

While hotels throughout Europe will see a growth in occupancy, average room rates and revenue per available room (revpar), it will be difficult to surpass pre-recessionary levels this year, explained Alex Kyriakidis, global managing partner of tourism, hospitality and leisure at Deloitte.

“Hotels in London, however, are an exception,” he said.  “The capital had the advantage of an inexpensive currency compared to the US dollar and Euro throughout the downturn along with limited new supply and did not experience the massive drop off in tourism that some European cities did.

“Increases in leisure visits from international and domestic tourists counterbalanced a 20% drop in business travel. Combined with strong revenue management, London is leading European hotels out of the recession.

“Hoteliers there have been able to push up average room rates since November 2009 and could possibly achieve double-digit revpar growth this year.”

London leads recovery among European hotels >>

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By Janet Harmer

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