For the first quarter of 2017, the hotel industry in London posted its highest revenue per available room of any first quarter on record, according to data from STR.
The market’s absolute RevPAR of £101.50 was an 11.3% increase compared with Q1 2016. Occupancy reached 76.1%, which was the highest Q1 absolute value in the metric since 2010. Average daily rate reached a record level at £133.38.
STR analysts attribute the strong performance to a spike in demand driven by the devaluation of the British pound. 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 segment, which saw 14% growth.
STR head of business development James Parsons said it remains to be seen how the market will react to an influx of new supply set to come online in the near future.
“London is clearly the development hot spot of Europe, with more than 13,000 rooms in the pipeline,” Parsons said.
STR analysts see performance figures for U.K. areas excluding London as a sign that the rest of the country also is benefitting from the rise in leisure visitors due to the pound devaluation. RevPAR for regional U.K. was up 3.8% to £44.70 for Q1.
