Weak pound helps fill up London hotels

The slump in the pound is bad news for many but at least one group can't complain — London's hoteliers.

Although the hotel trade has had a difficult year, with the last quarter particularly tricky, the fall in sterling against other major currencies is helping to attract overseas visitors to the capital.

Profit per London hotel room dipped slightly in 2008 to £63.69, says a survey based on 100 branded hotels, from TRI Hospitality Consulting.

Despite this, the London hotel market is still on the up, growing by 3% to 4% in the first nine months of the year. "The downturn during the fourth quarter is confirmed by our December data and points to the challenges that hoteliers face in the coming months," says TRI's David Bailey.

"For some, however, particularly in London, the weak pound stimulated extra inbound demand over Christmas," he adds.

Outside London, life was harder for the hotel trade. A sample of 400 provincial hotels show that profit per room fell by 7.2% to £32.49.