I’ve been asked on various occasions this year how the industry has fared and what impact the Olympics had on the industry.
In
truth, the 2012 Olympic Games altered the typical seasonal patterns for
London hotels and where many benefited in one respect, they also lost
out in another. Demand for hotel accommodation was high as a result of
those with tickets flocking to the capital to watch the Games.
However,
this also meant that conference and event planners avoided the area
during the summer for fears of congestion and as a result we found many
hotels offering unusual seasonal discounts on meeting and conference
space, often up to an 80 per cent saving. This was predominantly because
hotels were left with considerable day meeting space but were unable to
offer residential conferences due to the lack of bedrooms.
With
the hotel and catering industry remaining a competitive sector, we have
experienced few problems in terms of supply and demand, even seeing a
number of new openings this year such as the Belgraves Hotel and Bulgari
Hotel, both in London. We have also seen some hotel chains amalgamate
as result of takeovers, for example Accor acquiring Mercure.
Accommodation
rates are holding well but many hotels recognise that with the economy
remaining fragile, rates need to be held not increased in order to
attract business. From what we have seen so far, I would anticipate this
to be the case for much of 2013.
On the whole, I think many
hotels will have viewed the Olympic year as a bit of a ’non-event’, with
the exception of those that were best positioned to benefit from it.
The recession has brought about some tough times for the industry but in
many ways it forces those challenged to look at better, more efficient
ways of doing business and as a result hoteliers are looking to put
their ‘exceptional service’ hats on and find ways to generate a buzz and
deliver to their clients, which is of great benefit to those planning
innovative yet cost effective conferences for 2013.
Any comments? Email sarah@mashmedia.net
