London hotels braced for fall in occupancy | ft.com

London’s hotels face a fall in occupancy not seen since the aftermath of 9/11, with sales next year poised to fall nearly a quarter, PwC warns on Friday. Banking job losses, cuts in corporate travel budgets and the prospect of the global financial crisis reducing travel to the UK will bring London hotels’ five-year boom to a shuddering halt, according to the consultants. The warning comes on top of official figures released on Thursday, which revealed a sharp decline in visitors to the UK in the three months to September, usually the tourism industry’s busiest time of the year. PwC said a 1.9 per cent decline in gross domestic product next year would adversely hit London hotels. While hotel occupancy in the UK would fall 1.9 per cent, in London it would decline 8.7 per cent.