travel, hotel and booking Information

Part II The Aftermath of July 7th Bombing for London Hoteliers

Hotel Booking By Anna Gouldman
Londoners can today breathe a sigh of relief as Thursday has passed without incident. High alert rang through the capital yesterday as the bombers seem to have chosen Thursday as the day of atrocity, with the last 2 attacks occurring on this day. There were 6, 000 police on duty at many London underground stations to provide reassurance and deterrence.

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Travel Agency A sense of apprehension in London was magnified with the appearance of an Al-Qaeda figure in the news, owning up to the suicide bombings and threatening further atrocities unless Britain withdraws its troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Londons spirit, however, has not been deflated.

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Cheap Hotel It is a month since the London bombings and life is carrying on. BTN has been talking to hoteliers and industry insiders for the last few weeks to gain some insight into what the industry has been experiencing and what the future holds for London Tourism. The overall message is a refreshingly optimistic one, as the attitude of the travel industry and the traveling public seems to reflect the esteemed resilience of the British people.

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Flight Booking Claridges, The Langham Hotel, and Best Western Hotels are amongst many London hotels which have only seen a small immediate dip in bookings if any.

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Travel Agent In the concluding part of The Aftermath of July 7th Bombing, BTN has collated information including hotel occupancy rates, predictions, action plans for hotels and advice from industry leaders:

In July 2005 they were invited and performed in Havana, Cuba, being one of the first foreign bands invited to perform in that country. Booked to perform two concerts, they played the first show on July 7th, the day before Hurricane Dennis hit the island. Even in high winds, their first concert had an audience of 175, 000. Due to Hurricane Dennis they could not play the second show. Fans staying at the same hotel as Air Supply were treated to an acoustic performance by Graham, made necessary due to the power outage.

Hotel Chicago Paul M. McManus, President & CEO, The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. tells BTN how much he admires the spirit and resolve of the British people:

Online Booking None of our ten member hotels in London has been adversely affected by the recent bombings. In fact, occupancies increased immediately following the incidents of July 7.

Travel Health Insurance I do not believe there will be any markedly negative impact on travel and tourism to London, in either the short or long term. The luxury sector has unfortunately had several opportunities over the last 4 years to demonstrate its remarkable resilience. Our customers regard travel as a birthright and an integral part of their lifestyles, and continue to move about the world as they normally would.

Hotel Reservation As to what advice we would offer our London hotels at this time I think Londoners themselves have silently said it best by simply getting on with life. We admire the spirit and resolve of the British people, and believe that these two traits will serve our hotels and the city of London well.

London Hotel Booking David McMillan, CEO, International Hotel & Restaurant Association tells the tourism industry to keep up the good work!:

Discount Travel IH&RA is not in a position to comment specifically on the impact of the July incidents in London other than to observe that this is not the first time that London hoteliers have been faced with terrorist acts and it continues to be one of the safest, greatest and most successful mega-city tourist destinations in the world.

Orlando Hotel It is always rewarding also to observe the creative ways in which hoteliers and their employees instantly assist and support the needs of the authorities and the travelers that might be inconvenienced.

Booking Agency The IH&RA is also proud to host a Global Council on Security and Crisis Management and can categorically state that the safety and security of the traveling public are completely unified between competitors amongst which there are absolutely no barriers. The traveling public and the industry around the world are better served through the initiatives and cooperation between these Council members who work together as if they were one.

International Travel Medical On July 7th, I travelled to London to attend an industry lunch meeting and although I walked for 90 'wet' minutes before personally giving up, I am proud to observe that the luncheon went ahead as planned, undoubtedly a sign of the resiliency and resolve that the British have under such circumstances.

New York Hotel I therefore would observe that........ there will likely be no long term impact on the tourism industry and my advice to London hoteliers would be "Ladies & Gentlemen, keep up the great work!!"

Online Travel Booking Michael Hoffmann, General Manager, London, says Claridges have been unaffected so far:

Travel Medical Insurance Claridges has excellent occupancy and we have had no adverse reaction to the attacks on London.

Miami Hotel Duncan R. Palmer, Managing Director, Langham Hotel says business confidence is returning and business travel remains strong:

Air Deccan Booking "The Langham Hotel, London experienced a 10 - 12% dip in bookings, with the impact being felt mainly in the leisure side of the business which is sensivite to this kind of incident. We do, however, feel that business confidence is returning and the corporate business will continue to be reasonably strong.

Las Vegas Nevada Travel We regularly quote package rates to promote lower occupancy periods like August and we hope that by September things that things will return to higher occupancy levels."

Las Vegas Nv Hotel Keith Pope, Director of Membership, Best Western Hotels tells BTN Best Western are putting into action crisis management plans to ensure the safety of their guests:

Hotel Florence Booking Online Reaction
Obviously the impact of the attacks on both occasions affected the general public considerably. We can only plan for the future now, learn from what happened, put into action crisis management plans to ensure the safety of our guests and be as prepared as possible should a similar tragic event happen again.

Orlando Travel Booking Levels
From a central office level we have not been affected it seems to be business as usual if we look at the booking levels from both business and leisure guests. Bookings continue as normal, however as all Best Western hotels are independently owned and managed, we cannot say at present how much it has effected reservations at an individual hotel level. All Best Western London hotels are obviously concerned and are keen to provide a safe environment for their guests, because of this they plan to put into place certain measures that will ensure peace of mind amongst all guests.

Hilton Hotel Long-Term Effects
We can not comment on the general affects that these atrocities will have on our nation, however if we look at research into travel patterns following a crisis, we would expect there to be a dip in tourism to London initially, however we hope that the procedures we are putting in place will encourage customers to have confidence in the Best Western brand. We are optimistic that any negative affects to the London hospitality industry will be short term.

Booking Delta Com Action Plans
We feel that certain action plans to boost occupancy levels do need to be put in place, however we are initially concerned about tightening standards and safety within all Best Western hotels and letting our customers know that we are doing our utmost to ensure that their stay in London is as safe as possible. We feel that occupancy levels will return to normal once consumers are confident that London is a safe place to visit. Having met with our London hotel members and discussed what pre-cautions need to be taken, we have developed an action plan that incorporates customer concerns, crisis management, security procedures, health and safety, room availability and staff training.

Travel Insurance Online Paul Robin, Group Event Director, Centaur Exhibitions shares his thoughts on the effects of the bombings on business travel:

London Hotel In terms of the impact that the 7/7 bombings and 21/7 attempted bombings will have on business travel, I believe that some business trips will have been postponed, but not many or for long. So although there may be a short term small impact. I don't think many trips are going to be cancelled forever.

Online Hotel Booking However, companies planning annual conferences or for example a meeting of European offices, may well think twice about London as a location.

Travel Insurance Hopefully, the fact that the people of London have remained calm and stoically gone about their business 'as usual' will encourage business visitors to do the same.

Paris Hotel Pegasus Solutions provided BTN with some statistics for AugustDecember 2005 London bookings, which showed shortfalls at Utell by Pegasus member hotels for business booked to arrive in the next five months. The biggest influencing factor was a decrease in travel to London from France, Spain and the UK

Airline Booking Pegasus believes the London bombings could have caused a last minute booking pattern and are encouraging their members to be competitive of their rates.

Travel Trailer Advice
We are advising hotels to be competitive on their rates, but actually weve seen little evidence of rate dilution yet. September and October are typically the busiest months for business/corporate travel, therefore hotels may be reluctant to drop rates and more likely to wait and see. Given the recent events in London, rates may not be the determining factor in whether travelers come to London.

San Francisco Hotel Prior to seeing these statistics, Bob Boles, Chief Operating Officer, Pegasus Solutions offered BTN his take on the effects of the attacks and spoke positively about London as a destination:
"I do think therell be some hit in terms of bookings in the London. London is a key market for us. We have a lot of employees in London so we care an awful lot about the market and the people of London. We have a large number of hoteliers that are clients of ours. It is an important market for us. I think there will be a hit, I hope it will be short lived and that there will be some bounceback in terms of the traveller looking to get back into London its a great place to go and think folks are going to want to get back to enjoy all that London has to offer".

Air Ticket Booking The message from travel industry professionals is clear. The overall consensus is that the impact of attacks to date will be short term. It is the priority of London hotels to ensure their guests feel safe and secure. London is one of the most popular destinations in the world and it seems that it is going to take more than the threat of terrorism to deter travellers from this historic destination. As David McMillan, CEO, International Hotel & Restaurant Association stated: "Ladies and Gentleman, keep up the good work!"

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