Despite a three percentage point decline in room occupancy, profitability levels remained stable for London hoteliers in February.

The 0.4% increase in Gross Operating Profit per Available Room (GOPPAR) to £54.30 was driven by a 7.4% increase in Achieved Average Room Rate (ARR) to £122.60. As a result of the movement in room occupancy and average room rate,
Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) at London hotels grew by 3.3% to £91.39.

Whilst the business mix remained broadly similar this month against the same period last year, London hoteliers were able to increase achieved average room rate levels across all sectors, with the standout increase made in the conference sector, with a growth of 15.8% to £146.53 from £126.53.

Furthermore, in contrast to the same period last year, when corporate rates declined by 0.4%, this month London hoteliers were able to increase the average rate in this sector by 6% to £131.36. Although the decline in room occupancy levels at London hotels appears to illustrate a drop in the number of visitors to the capital, it is more likely that hoteliers have successfully managed volume in order to leverage rate and achieve RevPAR growth.

Major events such as London Fashion Week will have helped by continuing to drive demand for accommodation in the capital. This Profitability remains stable for London hoteliers despite occupancy declines month (February 2011), the real success for London hoteliers has been to maintain profitability levels against the high watermark achieved in February
2010, when GOPPAR soared by 12.4% during the capital's resurgence.

"It was always going to be hard for London hoteliers to equal the strong performance of 2010 and the year has begun with consecutive months of volume decline. That said, profitability levels during February have once again remained stable
thanks to astute yield management," said Jonathan Langston, managing director, TRI Hospitality Consulting. HotStats London Main KPIs.