New hotel development in London is set to ramp up this year, with around 6,500 rooms expected to open before the end of 2024. A lot of the focus has been on the luxury end of the market, with delays to a number of major scheme openings bumping their debuts into 2024, meaning no less than eight luxury hotels, with suites and branded residences, are set to open their doors this year.
“It is perhaps not surprising to see new hotels opening given the UK’s capital’s centre for tourism and business, as well as being a gateway city for international travel,” says Andreas Scriven, head of hospitality and leisure at Deloitte UK, which ranked London top for hotel investment this year, ahead of Lisbon, Amsterdam and Paris.However, he warns: “For London to continue to remain attractive to hotel investors, the industry will need to address concerns around the ability to drive pricing in light of inflationary pressures.”
So far luxury is outperforming the rest of the hotel sector, with RevPAR of £310 for luxury hotels in Q4 2023 and TRevPAR of £453, up around 6% and 8% respectively according to figures from advisor Knight Frank, while upper-mid and upscale only achieved an uplift of circa 2% across both.“What we are seeing among all the openings is a diversity in absolute high end luxury and more lifestyle and accessible luxury,” says Cushman & Wakefield UK and Ireland head of hospitality Ed Fitch. “The War Office and the Peninsula really moved the needle when they opened and I think is it's creating such a price headroom and driving the rates upwards that there's space for the more lifestyle luxury to play.”
While he points out that occupancy levels remain still slightly below 2019, room rates and the recent luxury openings have re-established the benchmark pricing and raised the bar.
“Global wealth is growing and the global elite want to see and be seen in the best hotels and spend their money in a different kind of way on the true experience of travel and they are pushing the envelope to such an extent that the rising tide is lifting all boats,” Fitch says. “That means many of the new openers will probably achieve higher revenues than they thought when they started putting the design brief together.”
With the operational market so strong and well capitalised owners, the transactional market has remained slow but Fitch notes that with London offering good liquidity and with the Chinese travellers yet to return, potential buyers may be attracted because of growth prospects.
“For an investor the sweet spot is a great macro location, a great micro location and a bit of a story to the asset,” says Fitch. “You can maybe get two of those things in any other city, but in London you can get them all.”
APRIL 2024
Art’otel London Hoxton
After the opening of the Art’otel London Battersea Power Station last year as part of the wider retail, office and residential redevelopment of the south west London site, Art’otel London Hoxton began a phased opening in April. The PPHE Hotel Group development has 357 guest bedrooms including 48 suites, event spaces including a 60-seat auditorium, plus destination bars and restaurants, a swimming pool, spa and a skyline gym. PPHE Group also opened in Zagreb in October and will open in Rome this summer.
SPRING 2024
Mandarin Oriental Mayfair
Set to open on Mayfair’s Hanover Square this spring, the luxury hotel group enlisted architect Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners for the design, with interiors by Tokyo-based studio Curiosity and British designer Studio Indigo. The hotel includes 50 rooms and 77 private residences and will feature the first restaurant in the UK from Michelin-starred chef Akira Back, as well as his ABar Lounge, and a rooftop terrace. A third Mandarin Oriental in London is scheduled to open at Bankside in 2028.
The Emory, Belgravia
From Maybourne Hotel Group, the company behind Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley, The Emory features spaces designed by André Fu, Pierre Yves Rochon, Champalimaud Design, Rigby & Rigby and Patricia Urquiola. An all-suites hotel, hospitality group ABC Kitchens debuted chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s signature cuisine in the UK, with the restaurant opening on 4 April.
Six Senses London
The debut UK property from another iconic luxury hotel brand, Six Senses London, will be housed in the former Whiteleys department store in Bayswater. With 110 curated guest rooms and suites, there will also be 14 residences available to buy. The subterranean Six Senses Spa will include an indoor swimming pool, an Alchemy Bar, and a relaxation room, and is part of a seven building £3 billion regeneration in Queensway.
SUMMER 2024
Hyde London City
Set within a historic building, 15 Old Bailey, Hyde London City has undergone a huge £34.3 million transformation. Within the Hyde Hotels, Resorts & Residences brand, part of Ennismore, a joint venture with Accor, the hotel directly overlooks St. Paul’s Cathedral. The 111-room hotel also features a contemporary Levantine restaurant and an underground cocktail bar.
Sircle London
Yet another hotel debut, Sircle London is situated on Devonshire Square, Liverpool Street and will comprise an 81-room hotel plus the first London site for The Cover — a members’ club concept complete with a botanical bar, library and working space. Israeli chef Eyal Shani will open the Seven North restaurant at the hotel. Sircle Collection opened a number of new properties last year, with more scheduled in Europe during 2024.
WINTER 2024
The Newman, Fitzrovia
Named for its Newman Street location in Fitzrovia, The Newman is scheduled to open before the end of the year and will be the first hotel from international hospitality management company Kinsfolk & Co. The hotel will feature 81 rooms and suites, as well as a European brasserie and cocktail bar.
Park Hyatt Nine Elms
An addition to the river Thames, the Park Hyatt Nine Elms will be close to the new US Embassy and will feature 203 rooms and suites, plus over 100 branded residences, when it opens towards the end of 2024. The spa houses relaxation lounges, a nail salon, spa rooms and an indoor pool, plus a yoga studio and fitness centre.