London will lead the UK hotels industry’s recovery this year, says TRI hospitality Consulting.

The business advisor has used its HotStats monthly survey of UK hotel performance to predict the likely results for the industry over the next three years.

TRI believes hotels in London will see room sales, as measured by revpar, increase by 6.6 per cent this year, with even greater growth of 12 per cent predicted for 2005.

With hotels outside the capital expected to see a 3.5 per cent increase in revpar this year and a further 3.5 per cent next year, TRI believes that by 2006, UK hotels will be trading at levels exceeding the peak attained during 2000.

Improvement in sales figures is expected to be driven by increases in room rates, rather than occupancy, said TRI managing director, Jonathan Langston.

“Hoteliers have held occupancy relatively steady during the downturn by either cutting rates or switching their business mix into lower paying segments. Strengthening demand means rates can be raised, driving profitability,” he said. Details: www.trihospitality.com