London Hotels Jacking up Rates as Much as 1000% on New Year’s Eve

December 28, 2012

New Year’s Eve celebrators who want to ring in the New Year in London but haven’t booked a hotel room yet better prepare themselves for some sticker shock. A new survey from CheapLondonHotels.co.uk has uncovered that a limited few London establishments still have last-minute vacancies available, but guests will pay handsomely for the privilege of staying in some of them. The good news is that if they know where to look, out-of-towners can still score an affordable place to stay, even at this late hour.

As of press time, approximately only every one in 10 London hotels still had vacancies for New Year’s Eve, the survey found. With such limited availability, these establishments have jacked up their rates by an average of 121% over their normal prices. Some are gouging last-minute planners exorbitantly more, though.

Case in point is the Best Western Premier Shaftesbury. With its coveted location near Leicester Square, a room at this establishment will cost GBP 999 on New Year’s Eve. That’s a staggering 719% more than its usual nightly rate of GBP 122. But the Best Western Premier Shaftesbury’s rate increase pales in comparison to the Paddington Hotel. Just steps from the Paddington tube station, the Paddington Hotel earns the honor of biggest rate hiker. On New Year’s Eve, it is elevating its overnight price tag more than 1000%, from GBP 79 to GBP 899.

Some hotels, however, still have moderately priced rooms up for grabs. Indeed, eleventh-hour bookers can find a 3-star double room for around GBP 200 in London city proper. In such areas as Camden or Bayswater, they can still uncover a room to stay for even less.

The following table shows the 10 hotels with the biggest rate increases for New Year’s Eve in London. For comparison purposes, average rates for the same rooms in January were established and determined as Regular Rates. All rates were established December 27 via the leading hotel-booking sites.