TravelMole Guest Comment: Champions League final will signal Olympic effect
Andy Storey, 
vice president of Enterprise Solutions, Rubicon, on how London hoteliers are scoring big with the upcoming Champions League Final.
"With the UEFA Champions League final taking place at Wembley Stadium at the end of the month, hotel bookings in the capital and seen a real surge. Group occupancy levels in particular for the night of the big game between Barcelona and Manchester United are up a staggering 93.7% year-over-year.
Europe’s footballing elite have battled it out this season in a bid to play in the final of the continent’s premier club competition on 28 May. It seems that London hotels are revelling in the honour of being the host city for the 2011 final as they have already seen the benefits with bookings for 27 May, the night before the final, showing a rise in committed occupancy of 67.8% compared to the same time last year. Committed occupancy over the weekend is showing an increase in both the Friday and Saturday nights with rises of 67.8% and 40.2% respectively.
As we’d expect, occupancy is highest for the night of the final itself, at 69.8%.
We wondered if the travelling fans from Spain and Manchester would extend their stays or just stay for the night and it looks as though many are making the most of their trip to London by arriving on the Friday evening and staying through to the Sunday after the final as the rise in committed hotel occupancy is up over the entire weekend. London hoteliers are reaping the benefits of having the major sporting final in their city with rates up 30.1% on the same time last year.
This should give them an idea of what they might expect ahead of next year’s Olympics.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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