subject: Why It’s Still a Good Idea to Book London Hotels [print this page] Author: Kim Chambers Author: Kim Chambers
London is one of the largest cities in Europe, a sprawling, mostly low-rise metropolis covering just over 1,700 square kilometres. People visit and settle in London for all sorts of reasons but as a financial centre, business is a big factor bringing with it of course large numbers of business travellers. The 2,000-odd years of history enveloping the city, plus its status as a major cultural hub also serve to draw in millions of tourists every year.
All of these require somewhere to stay. London hotels come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges in order to cater to the wildly diverse range of visitors.
It is estimated that London boasts around 101,269 hotel rooms, with around 70,000 three to five-star rooms within 10 kilometres of the city centre. Although London itself is an expensive city and at the top range hotel rooms can be pricey, there are a large number of London hotels that cater specifically for visitors on a budget.
Many reports have said that Londons hoteliers are struggling to fill their rooms in the face of the ongoing recession but, despite the global economic downturn, figures appear to show that London hotels seem to have been weathering the storm quite well. Ironically, much of this has been down to the drop in the value of the pound an event that has caused a drop in UK tourism to the EU.
In London the reverse has occurred. Figures from TRI Hospitality Consulting have indicated that European tourists and those from further afield, have been attracted to the UK capital in 2009 by the weak pound and a year of mild weather. The group said that in October, London hotels occupancy rate was at a very healthy 85.1 per cent the second highest level for the year. It added that the rate represented a year-on-year increase of 1.5 per cent. Prior to this, fellow consultancy group Deloitte had said that of all the cities in Europe London hotels had enjoyed the highest rates of occupancy during January to September 2009.
London is lucky in many respects, when it comes to withstanding the vagaries of the holiday market. Tourists certainly do not come for the weather but rather for the vibrancy, diversity and culture; and businessmen come for the business. As a result, there will always be a strong demand for London hotels and a future for those seeking to work in the London hotels industry.About the Author:
Kim has 4 years experience in the travel industry. She enjoys writing articles on various destinations and Travel related topics.
