London's hotels cash in with biggest profits in Europe
London hotels are the most profitable in Europe, industry statistics show, confirming a long-held suspicion of travellers and tourists.
High-end hotel rooms — four and five star — make a profit of £115 a night. That's 70% higher than the next most profitable European city for the hotel industry, Amsterdam.
TRI Hospitality Consulting says London's wide appeal means hoteliers are able to ratchet up prices.
"Whilst city markets such as Brussels, Barcelona and Vienna remain heavily reliant on individual market sectors, such as government and conference demand, London has benefited from its strong demand from a range of sectors, which have subsequently enabled consistent growth in the last 12 months," say TRI's latest hotel statistics.
London's hotel trade also pays its staff less. The industry has "successfully maintained a lean workforce throughout the year so far, with payroll costs accounting for just 23.1% of total revenue. Payroll costs in other European city markets are significantly above this, Paris (38.9%), Madrid (40%) and Rome (40.6%) in particular."
