London Hotels Take Center Stage
'Busiest Weekend Of The Year'
JULY 11, 2007. From 6-8 July 2007 London showed off its attractions to the world as it held three of the largest events of the year: the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium, the tennis finals at Wimbledon and, for the first time in its 104-year history, the Tour de France
Using results from Daily HotelBenchmark(TM) by Deloitte, we can see how these events affected hotel performance. Undeterred by the unpredictable British weather and recent security threats, hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the city in anticipation of the two-day sport and entertainment extravaganza. It is estimated that more than 1m people turned out to watch Saturday's prologue event of the Tour de France, and that similar numbers lined the 203km first leg of the race the following day. Together with the 15,000-plus spectators at Wimbledon and the 90,000 attending Live Earth, the weekend of 6-8 July 2007 was rightly labelled 'London's busiest weekend of the year.'
One of the reasons London was in a position to host such vast numbers is its provision of accommodation. According to Visit London, the capital has over 80,000 hotel rooms, spread across all gradings. But with demand for rooms so high last weekend, even such a large supply was almost saturated. The organisers of the Tour de France alone were expected to reserve 1,200 of the capital's rooms each day for teams, staff and press. Occupancy levels rose to 91% and 96% respectively on the Friday and Saturday nights. Such weekends provide a rare opportunity for hotels, and for the three day period hoteliers in London managed to achieve average room rates of lb149, 13.5% higher than last year. This pushed up revenue per available room (revPAR), which averaged lb127 over the three day period, 24.9% higher than in 2006. And for Saturday night alone London's revPAR peaked at lb143 - an incredible 36.8% rise on the previous year.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global leading lodging company based in Bethesda,Maryland, USA, with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands, including: The Ritz-Carlton®, BVlgari®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, TownePlace Suites®, Protea Hotels® and MoxyHotels®. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 50 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at 
