subject: Last Minute Hotels In London...unlikely! [print this page] With the Olympics just around the corner, it's not the time for potential hotel guests to be waiting to book a London hotel last minute, in order to get the best deals. Research by Travel Click showed that committed occupancy for the Olympic period of 27th July to 12 August is up 183.2% Year on year. Meanwhile average daily rates are up 61% Year on year. This means that hotels in London don't need to offer last minute deals in order to garner demand for their services. The summer is going to be exceptionally busy in London. As such, London is currently showing... Full.
If you have tickets to the Games or want to visit the London area, the best place to look is in the regions of London, but with easy transport links into London. Here, evidence is showing that hotels are not getting booked up as quickly as anticipated and rates have begun to drop for the period over the games. Already cheaper than London hotels in the first place, the regions are likely to suffer more during the Olympics then genuinely benefit from them.
Stirrups Hotel Bracknell and other hotels in the Bracknell / Windsor and Ascot areas, are the places to start looking for last minute deals for summer or the Olympics. Within 25 minutes of Heathrow and with great train links from Windsor, Ascot and Bracknell direct to Waterloo Central Station, they are ideal for visiting London, whether you are looking for a last minute London Hotel or not.
The last tip here would be also to book direct. This comes down to commission. By ringing hotels directly last minute, you are much more likely to get a significant discount than by booking on an online booking agency website. Hotels usually keep their prices higher on the agency websites as they will charge anything between 12% and 17.5% commission, whereas by ringing the hotel directly you are able to cut out the middleman and take a saving of a similar percentage yourself!
So here the conclusion, if you are looking to book last minute Hotels in London this summer thinking you will get a good rate, don't bother, you almost certainly won't! Instead look at regions outside, but within easy travelling distance of London, such as the county of Berkshire, as Hotels here are having less success with filling their rooms over the summer period, including the Olympics and rates have begun to drop (and drop enough that you may even feel comfortable booking right away in case there is a last minute pick up in bookings). lastly if you are booking a hotel of London, ring direct as you are much more likely to be able to get a decent discount.
