How are quarantine guests impacting future bookings in the U.K.?

Earlier this month, the U.K. government announced a mandatory hotel quarantine for anyone arriving from a country on the U.K.’s travel ban list. Beginning 15 February, travellers in that category were required to quarantine in a government-approved facility for 10 days.

With hotels contracted to house those quarantined travellers, we look to Forward STAR to determine the impact on future bookings around London’s key airports: Heathrow and Gatwick.

Heathrow Airport

As of 15 February, occupancy on the books for the STR-defined Heathrow Airport submarket came in at levels between 16%-19% from 19 February through 2 March. From there, a steady decline is visible with levels dipping back below 15%. Unfortunately, with last-minute cancelations, levels could be pulled even further downward.

While occupancy on the books remains low, pickup has at least been on the rise in the short-term to at least 10% through 12 March. After 17 February, the submarket’s pickup levels are higher than the same time last year. As a reminder, pickup measures your uptake in bookings from one data collection to the next.

Gatwick Airport

The Gatwick Airport submarket, on the other hand, hasn’t seen an impact just yet. As of 15 February, Gatwick Airport’s occupancy on the books was trending below 10% for the remaining days of February and March. The submarket’s highest occupancy on the books (10%) doesn’t come until 30 April.

Gatwick Airport’s pickup remains low as well. For the next 90 days (as of 15 February), pickup sat mostly below 5%. However, continuous uncertainty has led to much shorter booking times for all areas.

Occupancy-on-the-books intelligence will help pinpoint recovery and provide much-needed context. Those insights can be accessed for free when you submit your data. If you are interested, please email sales@str.com.

For further insights into COVID-19’s impact on global hotel performance, visit our content hub.