By EMANUELA BARBIROGLIO

Hackney hotel market is ready to thrive

The Borough of Hackney has the most active development pipeline when it comes to hotels, according to Colliers International’ latest London hotel index.

Hackney currently has only 2,200 hotel rooms available, however total active supply expected to open by the end of 2019 will double that current level.

Colin Hall, Colliers’ head of London hotels agency, said that rising regeneration opportunities in the east have tempted hoteliers to seek out new areas to invest.

“The popularity increase in the east of London has not gone unnoticed by hotel investors,” Hall said. “We’ve recently seen both Citizen M and the Courthouse hotel open their doors in Shoreditch, and many other well-known brands are looking to establish themselves here as well.”

Colliers analysed seven performance indicators including the active hotel bedroom pipeline, market appetite, transport accessibility to create its overall London Hotel Index.

Westminster comes out on top, hosting the most hotel rooms, with more than 37,000 available, and the highest average daily rates, at £211.

The City of London offers the most accessible public transport and has confirmed the openings of 1,915 new rooms. Overall, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea came second, recording 4.43 in the index, but the area is almost at full capacity.

“It’s been near impossible for hotel investors and developers to find the space to create new hotels in Kensington and Chelsea,” Hall added. “The residential market has remained extremely strong over the past few years, keeping prices high and supply low, and the grand period houses that make up much of the property stock in the area is difficult to convert.”