Hotels in London Report Record Q1 RevPAR

According to data compiled by STR, the hotel industry in London, England, posted its highest RevPAR for any first quarter on record.

For the first three months of the year, London’s absolute RevPAR level of GBP101.50 was an 11.3% increase compared with Q1 2016. Occupancy reached 76.1% (+4.8%), which was the highest Q1 absolute value in the metric since 2010, while ADR reached a record level at GBP133.38 (+6.2%).

STR analysts attribute the strong performance to a 7.7% spike in demand, likely driven by the devaluation of the British Pound. Additionally, the Easter calendar shift from March 2016 to April 2017 moved more demand into Q1. Overall, demand was up 8.8% in March, and RevPAR rose 14.2%.

Performance increases were seen across all London submarkets, with the highest levels in the London West End, Earls Court/Kensington/Chelsea and South Central London. At the class level, performance growth was highest for the Upper Upscale (RevPAR: +14.0%) segment.

Previewing his presentation for Hotel Tech Lab in London on 16 May, James Parsons, head of business development for STR, noted the following on London’s Q1 performance: “After the struggles of early 2016, we’ve seen consistent performance growth in London. What remains to be seen is how the market will react to an influx of new supply set to come online in the near future. London is clearly the development hotspot of Europe, with more than 13,000 rooms in the pipeline.”

STR analysts see performance figures for U.K. areas excluding London as a sign that the rest of the country is also benefitting from the uptick in leisure visitors due to the devaluation of the GBP.

RevPAR for Regional U.K. was up 3.8% to GBP44.70 for Q1.

See also: Tony Fernandes (AirAsia) and Gary Chapman (Emirates) Talk Aviation @ WTTC Global Summit 2017 - HD Video and What’s Going to Happen to The Dusit Thani Bangkok Hotel? HD Video Interview with GM as well as other HD Videos and Podcasts.

See latest HD Video Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: STR, ADR, RevPAR, London, England.