When booking a hotel room, guests are considering more factors than ever in deciding which property to call home in their destination. One of the many considerations is price, and by extension hotel class, which leads us to this latest analysis of occupancy on the books in London. Examining future occupancy levels by class allows for a better understanding of the traveler booking rationale for the upcoming months.
Merry Christmas and not such a Happy New Year
The short-term outlook for London is positive as summer ends and the industry transitions into the typically slower autumn and winter months. Leading bookings in the short-term are Economy class properties, with occupancy as high as 66% over the reporting period. The lead-up to Christmas is also showing glimmers of hope with bookings spiking across mid-December. This is likely due to increased confidence in city breaks given the success of the U.K.’s vaccination program as well as the destination's attractive retail offerings, which will be well-received in the lead up to the holidays.
For now, however, the picture lacks promise entering 2022 across all class types. During the second week of January, occupancy on the books drops drastically, particularly for Economy and Luxury class hotels. For this period, Upper Upscale and Upscale hotels stand out from the crowd with slightly higher levels of bookings, but with occupancy only peaking at 10% for the week of 10 January, there is not much excitement for any class. Of course, we know that booking windows have significantly shortened because of the pandemic, so as long as the pandemic situation remains manageable, there will be an uptick in future months.
