Taxi Driver Online

London hotel room bonanza as guests stay away

Hotels in London have been forced to dramatically cut their prices after the expected surge in Olympics tourists failed to materialise and usual guests, such as businessmen and coach parties, stayed away from the city.

Other tourist attractions such as museums and theatres are also struggling to compete with the Olympics, with attendances falling by up to a third.

Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said cab drivers had been hit hard by the lack of trade and described London as a "ghost town".

The hotel price cuts mean that many rooms in London are now cheaper than they were this time last summer, according to Lastminute.com. The website said that the average room in London booked on a last minute deal is currently available for £112 a night compared to £133 last year.


“There are bargains to be snapped up,” said Kathy Dover from Lastminute.com.

Hotels.com, the online travel agent, said that there are still rooms available in all classes of hotel.

Alison Couper, senior director of global communications at Hotels.com, said that demand from tourists has not been as strong as hoped. She also said that many businesses banned travel to London during the games on the basis of price and security.

She also said that rooms block-booked months ago by organiser LOCOG have been released back into the market as they were not used.

“There is certainly quite a good amount of availability still. Initially LOGOC procured a lot of hotel rooms right at the start for officials, the media and the Olympic family but they then started releasing them.

“Businessmen are not coming to London, but also big groups of tourists – such as large Japanese and Chinese groups – did not book the volumes of rooms out that they would have done a year ago,” said Ms Couper.

Hotels.com said that although prices have come down, average room rates are still slightly higher than they were a year ago. While rooms were being priced at around 120 per cent above their normal price earlier this year, they are now just 34 per cent higher, which is in line with other major sporting events.

The average room currently costs £171 a day while back in March the same room cost £213, the company said.

Loanne Fresco, a director at the Columbia Hotel in London’s Bayswater, said that is it “business as usual” and that the hotel is almost full with tourists and people working on a series of concerts in nearby Hyde Park.

However she said that the Olympics has displaced other kinds of guests - such as businessmen – who would normally stay at the hotel.

“We haven’t got a conference at all this summer. No-one who hasn’t got to come into central London is coming in. We have the worst June we had for some time and August is not very full,” she said.

However Ms Fresco said that the Columbia avoided the trap of setting its rates too high, unlike other hotels.

“Some hotels doubled their rates for the Olympics and would be lucky to sell rooms for £20,” she said.

People are also staying away from other attractions in London’s West End.

Mr McNamara from the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association that business is down by about 20-40 per cent depending on the time of day.

"Normally about 90 per cent of our customers are Londoners but they've all left the city and haven't been replaced by tourists,” said Mr McNamara.

Nica Burns, the chief executive of Nimax Theatres, which owns half a dozen London theatres, forecast that ticket sales would be down by 30 per cent over the summer.

“We’re bleeding darling. For my six theatres, last week was the worst this year. I think the Olympics are great – but I feel like I’ve been the bullseye for the archery competition,” she said.

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, which represents popular tourist attractions and museums in London, also said that attendance over the last two weeks had fallen by around a third.

A spokeswoman for the British Museum said there had been a fall in the number of visitors.

"Anecdotally at the moment, it is looking like we are about 25-30 per cent down on the same time last year," she said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9441584 ... -away.html

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

http://eviewmagazine.com/july12/questiontime.html

Is it just me or does the chap in the article know f*ck all about whats actually happening in London?

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Didn't his mob say all cabbies where off off away during the Olympics?

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IDFIMH

I think if I had a business in London I would not pay my business rates for the 4 weeks while the Olympics are on,after all Govenment and Boris are all saying to everyone Keep out of London.How can you run a business when they are telling your customers to stay away.

Team GB have cancelled Securicor's gold medal transport truck, they didnt want it overloaded....

Kelly Holmes (on TV today) said all our strong events start today, cycling....and erm.....cycling, how can we NOT win the archery.........

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Where the f%^k is Robin Hood - I have never seen him miss a shot

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

He changed his name to Boris, then he could rob everyone, if you want to drive there his mate Dick Turpin (TFL)is still alive charging you for the pleasure for doing so

When I go with a fare to London I take a flask and a packed lunch, drop off and get out strait away, feck paying up to a fiver for a coffee and a tenner for a butty

you cant get a coffee and a butty, you can have a Mocha light chocca whippo whotsit and a panini tandoori with caeser light salad with dressing and untasty stuff across it, all hand made by a dirty looking Iraqi....

coffee and butty is for truckers snackvans, whitevanmen and cabbies (outside the M25 - AKA the great wall of finery)

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

The best roadside van I have found is on the Glastonbury road 1st lay by just half a mile off the M5, a full English with tea or coffee for a fiver

In the days when I used to go to London for nights out in the limo, we used to go to a roadside burger van on one of the bridges at battersey. There prices for burgers and tea were very cheap.

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Grandad,

Free toilet roll Included.......Fraaaaaapppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp!!!!!!!

in quite a big shaded layby, know it well, but we are regulars up the Tor.....

just back from another visit actually, chilling on a ley line................


as an eficiando of snackeries can I suggest "Dinkies" on the Shrewsbury-Welshpool road at "Ford" village, and Penriths "Red Rooster", the latter is a cafe proper.

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

I had an Image of most TDO members being more the Gastro Pub type as Cafes and Greasy spoons went out in the 60s. .

You must all be wrong, I remember those who know stating that the London Olympics will bring millions of pounds of trade/business into the country and benefit every location

and the moon is made of cheese
and Elvis is alive, nessie is real, crop circles too

its doubtless good for a few, but so was the black death....

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Give me a good old greasy brekky anyday of the week.