Hotel News Now
The May 6 coronation of King Charles III is already boosting London hotel demand.
It will be the first coronation in the Royal Family for years since the June 2, 1953, coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Sept. 8 at the age of 96.
King Charles III’s coronation will take place on a Saturday at Westminster Abbey in London.
According to forward-looking hotel occupancy data from STR — CoStar’s hotel analytics firm — occupancy for May 6 as of Feb. 9 for the Knightsbridge, Pimlico, and Victoria area of London is 47% for May 5, the day before the coronation, and 44% for May 6, coronation day.
All of London is showing 33% occupancy on the books for both dates. Occupancy on the books for May 7, the day after the coronation, is 30%.
The closest hotel geographically to Westminster Abbey is Whitbread’s 346-room Hub by Premier Inn London Westminster Abbey, at 21 Tothill St.
In 2022, the comparable Friday and Saturday, May 6-7, for the same market achieved occupancy of 71% and 72%, respectively. ADR on those dates was 271 pounds sterling ($330) on May 6, 2022, and 276 pounds sterling on May 7, 2022. Revenue per available room was 191 pounds sterling on May 6, 2022, and 199 pounds sterling on May 7, 2022.
Axel Hefer, managing director and CEO of online travel agency Trivago, said he expects London hotel average daily rate for Charles’ coronation on May 6 to hit 254 pounds sterling, increasing approximately 60% in year-over-year terms, according to Trivago research reported by The Daily Mail.
The U.K. has announced that May 8, the Monday following the coronation, will be an additional bank holiday. There are now three bank holidays in the month.
Normally, there are two U.K. bank holidays in May. This year, May 1 is the Early May Bank Holiday and May 29 is the Spring Bank Holiday.
Hoteliers are expecting high demand for hotels across those two long weekends, the four working days in between and each Friday preceding the long weekends.
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