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With demand outpacing supply, London hotels see strong November numbers

November was a good month for London's hotel sector, with some strong year-over-year performance levels, according to the latest stats from STR. 

Based on daily data from the month, hotels in London reported supply growth of 2 percent to support demand growth of 4.6 percent. Occupancy, meanwhile, increased 2.5 percent to 85.9 percent, and average daily rate grew 3 percent to £156.94. RevPAR increased 5.6 percent to £134.85. The absolute occupancy level ranked among the highest for any November in the UK capital. 

STR analysts noted performance for the month was helped by World Travel Market London, held from November 5 to 7, and the Nitto ATP Finals, held from November 11 to 17. However, both of these events are held each November, meaning that the year-over-year improvements cannot be exclusively credited to the programs.

According to STR, the steady growth in supply, demand, occupancy and revenue is hardly new, and developers have been hurrying to add rooms to the city's stock. As noted last month, London is set to add more than 11,000 new hotel rooms by 2020, according to The London Hotel Monitor Report 2018, published by JLL and London & Partners. Approximately one-third of the expected pipeline is in the upscale segment, with economy hotels making up 26 percent of total future supply, followed by upper-upscale hotels with 22 percent.