Cold snap brings benefits to hoteliers

Hotels near Heathrow and Gatwick airport were all fully booked last night after the adverse weather conditions in the capital sent people fleeing to them to bed down for the night.

All hotels around Heathrow airport were fully booked from around lunchtime yesterday, after snow brought all flights to a standstill.

The 400-bedroom Radisson Edwardian hotel, 350 bedroom Sheraton Skyline, 100-room Ramada London Heathrow, 800 room Park Inn, 391 room Marriott and both Premier Inn hotels were filled to busting and still receiving enquiry calls late into the evening.

The surge in hotel bookings will come as some relief to hoteliers experiencing difficult trading conditions, with many hotel companies receiving enquiries from other hotels who wished to book out their rooms in order to accommodate more stranded customers.

A saleswoman at Premier Inn said many people who were based in Greater London were not making the journey home, but choosing to stay at a hotel for the night instead.

Some hotels in central London were also benefiting from customers who preferred to remain in the city centre rather than brave the journey home.

Andrew Coney, general manager at the Tower hotel near Tower Bridge said his hotel was fully booked yesterday, which offset any inconveniences by staff unable to get into work, or any cancellations they had had.

"The City has really picked up thanks to the weather and we're fully booked tonight- we just need to make sure everyone is in tomorrow to serve the full hotel its breakfast", he said.

Stefan Soinichsin, general manager at One Aldwych in central London, said the hotel had been affected adversely by the weather with private room cancellations, some food and beverage cancellations, and postponement of room reservations.

"We've lost a little bit, but all our staff made it in today, with some even walking for hours. We have a very dedicated team here", he said.

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By Gemma Sharkey

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