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Bookings at London hotels for the Olympic period are down by around a third on last summer, with travellers being put off by high prices, a British travel agent said this week, dampening hopes that the Games will help to revive Britain’s economy.

The travel agent said a four-star hotel room in central London is normally priced between 80 pounds and 120 pounds per night during in the peak summer season, but this year the range is 200 pounds to 415 pounds.

source: Reuters

Heathrow Airport will cope with the huge surge in passengers and baggage during the Olympics, despite concerns over queues and security, BAA has reassured the public.

The airport, which will experience its busiest ever day on August 13 – the day after the Olympics closing ceremony – has pumped more than £20 million into the 2012 Games to make sure athletes and tourists can arrive and leave without a hitch.

At a briefing in central London, authorities insisted people will not suffer because of problems with the UK’s borders.

source: dailymail.co.uk

The heads of four leading airlines have warned the British government there could be chaos at London’s airports during this summer’s Olympic Games, which would cause major embarrassment to the country unless a deal can be reached over their concerns.

In a blunt letter to transport chiefs, British Airways , bmi, Virgin Atlantic and Easyjet said time was running out to tackle the expected surge in air traffic and its impact.

Failure to address their concerns could bring misery to millions of regular travellers and those coming to London for the world’s biggest sporting event, the airlines argue.

Britain, already the sixth most visited country in the world, anticipates an additional 700,000 international travellers during the Olympics, which begin on July 27.

source: Reuters

More than 120,000 places reserved in hotels by Olympics organisers for workers, sponsors and the media during the Games will not be needed, it has emerged.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Locog) confirmed that around 20% of the room nights they had booked would now be returned to the hotels for them to offer up to other customers.

As part of the bid to stage the 2012 Games, agreements had been struck with hotels to provide more than 40,000 rooms, representing more than 600,000 room nights during the period. Part of the deal was that the committee promised to return any unwanted rooms back to the hotels so they could sell them in time for Games.

The rooms, at more than 200 hotels, range from five-star to budget accommodation.

source: Press Association

A bizarre new hotel, shaped like a boat,- is to be placed on top of the Queen Elizabeth Concert hall peering out over the River Thames for the 2012 Olympics.

The nautical building, due to be hoisted into position on London’s South Bank in December, will be equipped with a mast and look-out station and guests will be expected to keep a detailed log and hoist a flag to indicate they are aboard.

source: indiatimes.com

British Airways is giving its customers the chance to win tickets to the London 2012 Olympic Games at ba.com.

The official airline partner is giving away 24 tickets every 24 hours, every day between 17- 24 August, to attend the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Customers buying a flight on ba.com during that period will be given a password allowing them to enter the prize draw. Names will be selected at random and the lucky winners will win a pair of tickets, with their names listed on ba.com.

source: finchannel.com