As London looks towards hosting what is set to be the first ever sell-out Paralympic Games, hoteliers aim to replicate the successes that occurred during the Olympic period. TravelClick, leading hotel market intelligence provider, looks back at how the market fared during the Olympics and, using its forward-looking data, how hotel performance looks for the upcoming Paralympic games.
Olympic success
The Olympic period (27 July – 12 August 2012) saw an increase of 62.7% in revenue for London hoteliers in comparison to the same period last year. Overall the average daily rate (ADR) during the Olympics showed an increase of 55.2%, with rooms rates up an average of more than £60 compared with 2011.
Jan Tissera, international president, TravelClick, commented:
“Group bookings really drove the results for hoteliers during the Olympics, showing a revenue increase of 398.4% in comparison to the same time period in 2011. While the variance in room nights during the Olympic Games was not significantly high compared to last year – demand in the London market is normally high during the August time period – the real difference made was in the ADR and revenue and hoteliers should focus on how to optimise their rate strategies for greater revenue while still maintaining high occupancy rates.”
Paralympic occupancy
Looking ahead to the Paralympics (29 August – 9 September 2012), for the period as a whole, committed occupancy is currently up 8.2% year-over-year based on current reservations on the books. At this stage in the booking window, the night of the opening ceremony, Wednesday 29 August is showing the highest committed occupancy figures compared to other dates in the Paralympic period – occupancy for that date is up 13.9% compared to last year. The crowds will be eagerly anticipating the spectacular show, called ‘Enlightenment’, after the precedent set by DannyBoyle at the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games.