Recovery checks in for hoteliers

THE London hotel trade may have finally turned the corner as one of the worst-ever years in the hospitality sector draws to a close.

Room rates and occupancy levels in the capital rose last month with revenue per available room (revpar) up 2.5% on 12 months ago.

Hotels consultancy Tri said improving business confidence and a pick-up in the tourist trade were behind the increase and it now believes its forecast revpar of £60.50 for London in 2003 will be met.

'London hotels continue to build upon the improvement achieved in five of the last six months,' Tri said. '[Indeed, for the last three months the trend has turned to growth over 2002.'

The Iraq war, Sars and the economic slump have contributed to a nightmare year for hoteliers, who have relied on special promotions and mini-break deals to provincial sites to boost revenue.

Airports operator BAA this month indicated that nervy Americans were finally coming back to London as it registered another jump in transatlantic passenger numbers. Business activity in London is expanding at its fastest pace for almost six years.

Tri said the figures showed there was 'light at the end of the tunnel' for the hotel trade but added that hotels outside the capital suffered a setback last month with a 1.8% fall in revpar, the first decline since July.