Marvin Rust, hospitality managing partner at Deloitte, commented: �Occupancies were always going to be higher than last year when war compounded the already difficult trading conditions but the level of growth is far greater than expected.  As occupancy levels approach 80 percent over the peak months ahead, room rates will begin to move significantly exacerbating the upward trend in performance seen in the first quarter.�

The average room rate for London hotels in quarter one was £89, £5 higher than last year.  Revenue per available room (revPAR) reached £65, an increase of 14 percent on 2003.

The higher end of the market enjoyed the greatest improvement in performance.  Hotels with average rates of between £160 and £200 recorded a staggering revPAR growth of 31 percent to reach a revPAR level of £112.  This increase was due largely to a 28 percent increase in occupancy levels, from 52 percent last year to 67 percent in 2004.   

Marvin Rust commented, �The top end of the market is the most cyclical so the improved economic environment will have helped lift the performance of these hotels but the huge level of occupancy growth also suggests hoteliers are finding innovative ways to attract visitors.  With a number of hotels in this bracket having recently changed hands, the strong performance will be extremely encouraging for the new owners.�  

Other main findings

• The fresh and innovative approach of boutique hotels continues to attract a following. Occupancy levels in these hotels rose by 19 percent in the first quarter and revPAR by 23 percent.
• The UK�s regional hotel industry has shown the first improvement in quarter one performance since 2001. RevPAR rose 6 percent on last year to reach £39.  This compares with the quarter one peak of £41 in 2001. 

The HotelBenchmark Survey by Deloitte contains the largest independent source of hotel performance data outside of North America and tracks the performance of over 6,000 hotels and 1.2 million rooms every month. Four regional monthly rate and occupancy reports are produced covering Asia Pacific, Central & South America, Europe and the Middle East & Africa. These are supplemented by country reports for Australia, Belgium & The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK and a city survey for London. Annual profitability surveys are run across all regions of the world, whilst in Germany and London monthly profitability surveys are conducted. 

About Deloitte
In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte & Touche LLP.
Deloitte & Touche LLP is the UK's fastest growing major professional services firm based in 21 UK locations, with over 10,000 staff nationwide and fee income of £1,228 million in 2002/2003. It is a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a leading professional services organisation, delivering world class audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance services, with around 120,000 people in over 140 countries. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is a Swiss Verein, and each of its national practices is a separate and independent legal entity.

Laetitia Mowat 
UK Public Relations 
+44 (0) 20 7303 4820 
[email protected] 

Bethany Lucas 
HotelBenchmark 
+44 (0) 20 7007 0981
[email protected]

www.HotelBenchmark.com