London Stratford City, which has just been named one of the UK's top ranking hotels on Expedia Insiders' Select Lists, is one of London's key hotels to have benefited from the 'Olympic bounce'.
New figures released by the ONS International Passenger Survey show that Britain's tourism sector is experiencing a five-year high*.
"Opening a hotel at the Olympic site in time for the 2012 Games was an exhilarating experience and the adrenalin rush still hasn't subsided," reveals John Wagner, Cycas Hospitality. (
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"Unsurprisingly, given our location, we were fully booked during the Games, but a year later and we've not experienced anything of the post-Olympics hangover that other host-cities suffered from.
"We have achieved a consistent high occupancy over the year, with the corporate market rushing to fill the gap left by Olympic visitors. Over 80% of our guests are business travellers, and as many as 75% of them stay more than seven nights. We had predicted this wouldn't happen until year three, meaning the bounce has put us a good two years ahead of the expected business cycle for a new hotel."
"It's not just the 'Olympic Bounce' that is standing us in such good stead – it is our location in the transport hub at Stratford. Our easy connectivity to the City, Canary Wharf and the West End by tube, DLR, Overground and the Javelin makes us very attractive to business travellers and tourists alike."
Just one year after opening, Staybridge Suites – London Stratford City has been ranked 13th in the UK's top hotels on Expedia Insiders' Select Lists based on the guest reviews of Expedia's business and leisure customers.
The 162 room, all-suite, extended-stay hotel was among only fifteen UK hotels to make Expedia's annual list of the 650 best hotels across the world, thanks to hotel's luxury apartment-style living and unique home-from-home environment.
With London going against the grain of previous Olympic cities including Athens, Atlanta and Sydney - all of which experienced a post-Olympic slump in tourism - the magic seems only set to continue. The reopening of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park this summer which is already playing host to a series of music concerts, the Open East Festival and various sporting events, will encourage even more visitors to make the most of London this year.
