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More than 120,000 unwanted hotel room nights, ranging from five star luxury to budget accommodation, were released by London Olympic organisers this week for resale to the public.

Organisers LOCOG said they were fulfilling a pledge to return to hotels any surplus rooms in time for them to be sold on well ahead of the Games which start in less than 6 months on July 27.

The total, spread over more than 200 hotels, represents some 20 per cent of the room nights reserved by LOCOG for media, sports federations, sponsors and the International Olympic Committee under agreements struck in 2005 when London was awarded the Games.

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The largest budget hotel chain in the UK, Premier Inn, has launched a free Wi-Fi service across its entire portfolio of properties.

Customers are being offered up to half an hour of free unlimited connectivity, the hotel chain has also cut its 24hour charges to £3.

The 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi is on a metered basis and lasts the duration of a guests stay.  Guests staying for longer also benefit with the new initiative, with unlimited Wi-Fi for one week at just £10.

The reductions follow the results of the Which? Survey at the start of January 2012, which highlighted the differences between hotels Wi-Fi fees.

Premier Inn Marketing Director Mark Fells said “We are always looking at ways to go the extra mile for our guests, and the rise of the smart phone and the demand for mobile internet access we wanted to provide guests with the opportunity to always feel connected.”

To see a selection of Premier Inn hotels with free Wi-Fi view  http://www.infotel.co.uk/hotels/results.aspx?criteria=premier%20inn&checkin=&checkout=&location=true&searchtype=vague

International visitor numbers and spending in the UK rose to their highest levels for three years in October.

Figures released today showed both were up by 2%, with numbers boosted by an increase in holidaymakers, VFR traffic and an influx of visitors from European countries outside the EU.

At 2.77 million overall, visitor numbers are at a higher level than any other October in the last three years, slightly up on the same period in 2010 and just below the record 2.82m in October 2007.

Visitors spent a record £1.7 billion, 2% up on the previous record of £1.6 billion in October 2010 (before taking account of inflation). Building on the record spend seen in the summer this has resulted in record earnings so far in 2011 of £14.9 billion, 4% higher than the year to date for the same point  in 2010.

Overall visits from Europe were up by 4% compared to October 2010, this despite no change from the major EU15 (nations who were members of the European Union before the 2004 expansion). The rise comes as a result of other European markets continuing to show a high interest in visiting the UK. Strong arrivals from the likes of Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, means visits are up by 46% compared to October last year, 21% higher than the previous record in October 2005.

Total visits and spend from overseas so far in 2011 (up to and including October) remain 3% and 4% respectively above their 2010 levels. The increases have been buoyed by particularly strong figures from growth markets such as Brazil, which has recorded a 47% rise in 2011 compared to the first ten months of 2010, along with China (28%) and Russia (19%).

Patricia Yates, director of strategy and communications at VisitBritain, said: “We have had a particularly good year so far in both visitors and spend, especially from those coming from the emerging tourism markets like Brazil, China and Russia where we need to compete strongly to ensure Britain maintains its position near the top of the world rankings.

“In the new year our 'GREAT Britain - You're Invited' campaign will look to build on the positive gains made in the VFR market, enticing potential visitors with the warm welcome of their friends and family here in the UK and putting Britain on the destinations wish list for millions across the globe.”

Scenes similar to an astonishing soap storyline took place at the offices of Infotel Solutions Ltd over the weekend, when a surprise engagement was followed by an even more surprising birth. 

On Friday evening the partner (Jamie) of findmeahotelroom.com Accommodation Specialist Rory Hill, turned up in a stretch limo and proposed in front of the entire office and both sets of families, including parents and Grandparents. 

Rory was then whisked off for a night out including a meal, photos, speeches and cake, where he met up with more family members, including his 3 brothers and both of Jamie’s brothers. 

Rory commented, “It was like a mini wedding in itself”

This was followed by an even more unbelievable event, when findmeaconference .com Account Administrator, Victoria Wilson, was rushed to hospital with stomach pains, only to be told that she had gone into labour and later gave birth to baby girl Eleanor. 

Eleanor was a complete surprise to Vicky and Gavin, who had not planned the pregnancy, let alone known about it.   

Vicky joked “It was the most unusual way I have tried to get out of work on a Monday morning” 

The family are all doing well, if not still in a little shock by the events.  Eleanor weighed in at 7lb and 1 ounce, and was actually one week overdue. 

Vicky said, “Eleanor was a complete shock, but the most lovely surprise we could wish for”. 

The board of directors at Infotel Solutions Ltd and colleagues of Victoria and Rory send them all their best wishes.

Accommodation providers in the UK such as Hotels and B&Bs have reportedly had their best April in five years, with domestic tourists taking 5% more overnight trips.

VisitEngland has indicated that due to the double bank holiday and Royal Wedding, hotels and B&Bs had their best April since 2006.

National tourist board VisitEngland said the warm weather and an extra bank holiday had a positive impact on domestic tourism, with overnight trips in England up 8 per cent on April the previous year and tourism spend up 14 per cent.

Business tourism, which may have been expected to fall back given the extra bank holiday, also rose by 6 per cent in April which means that year to date business tourism figures are now up 3 per cent (January - April) compared to the same period last year.

In contrast, trips to visit friends and relatives in April were 10 per cent lower than in April last year, indicating that the hospitality industry was the main benefactor of trips away from home.

James Berresford, VisitEngland’s chief executive said: "April showed us that Brits do indeed love their bank holidays and the double bank holiday certainly helped to give domestic tourism in England a healthy boost. We know that accommodation operators are confident of a good summer and with the trend to holiday at home clearly strong, tourism in England looks promising this year.”

Despite a positive start to this summer, hotel and B&B owners around the UK have reported signs of consumers saving money.

In a VisitEngland survey published last week that quizzed 500 accommodation owners and managers, the majority said they were quite satisfied with trade from May to July, but 40 per cent said they'd noticed visitors were spending less this year.

"The year has started well and confidence is strong for the summer - however, we know that the general public are increasingly worried about their finances and this will inevitably have an effect on the overall success of the sector this year," said Berresford.

“Visits from remaining parts of the world (Central and South America, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Australasia) were the highest seen in a May so far at 390,000. This reflects growth of over a fifth (22 per cent) in the three months to May 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.”

In order to attract the growing number of electric car motorists to use their facilities, hotels are starting to install electric car charging stations.

With the government initiative to increase the number of electric cars in the UK to between 1 and 2 million by 2020, bringing the number of electric cars on the road up to 7% of the vehicle population, hotels providing the facility could reap the benefits.

The average electric car needs to be left overnight to charge; therefore, users on the road will be left requiring accommodation for the evening.

Telsa is a US carmaker, who have already partnered with over ten hotels and resorts in the UK, to install the charging stations, which will all be privately owned and available for public to use.

Tesla aims to create a charging network across the UK to promote the use of electric cars, and said that the “forward thinking” hotels it has partnered with will benefit from extra business as motorists “conveniently recharge while having a meal, using leisure facilities, or indulging in an overnight stay”.

The hotels and resorts that have partnered with the scheme are:

• John o'Groats Guesthouse, Caithness, Scotland
• Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort, Scotland
• Dalmahoy, a Marriott Hotel and Country Club, Kirknewton, Scotland
• Radisson Blu Hotel, Durham, England
• The Nottingham Belfry - Q Hotels, England
• The Arden Hotel and Leisure Club, Bickenhill, Solihull, England
• The Castle Hotel at Taunton, Somerset, England
• Land's End Hotel, Cornwall, England
• Heathrow/Windsor Marriott Hotel, England
• The Moat House Hotel at Acton Trussell, England
• Ashford International Hotel, Kent, England

"After crossing the country on a single charge in a Tesla Roadster, I realised that national coverage would require surprisingly few charge stations," said the firm’s David Peilow.

"I worked out the minimum number of sites for all of Britain to be reached, and found locations where drivers would be keen to stop and recharge. Once the benefits of hosting an EV charger were explained, most sites jumped at the chance to have one."

Budget hotel chain Travelodge are offering school leaving youths the opportunity to trade in university debts for a chance of running their own hotel, and earning up to £30k by the age of 21.

The hotel chain has just launched the UK’s first budget hotel management apprenticeship programme, called JuMP, and is looking for would-be undergrads who can’t face three years of racking up overdrafts and loans.

It is planned that 500 school leavers are to be hired over the next five years, to be placed on a two year courses that will result in £30,000 jobs.  With the first 50 apprentices to be hired in the summer of this year.

The results of the research carried out by the hotel chain showed that 71% of ‘teenagers’ question the value of attending university and gaining a degree. 

The research also found that their expectations of the cost of three years of further education is just £21,884, where as the actual figure is more than double that.

Guy Parsons, the Chief Executive of Travelodge said: “Our nationwide JuMP programme offers school leavers an alternative career choice to going to university. The fast track management programme provides a real job, with the opportunity of on the job training throughout the business, combined with further education and the opportunity to earn up to £30,000. In contrast to going to university and graduating with a debt of £43,224 and facing an over crowded jobs market.”

He added: “We have an aggressive growth target to have 1,100 hotels by 2025. To fuel this strategy, our JuMP programme will provide a pipeline of new management talent and I am aiming that forty five per cent of our new hotels will be managed by our Travelodge apprentices by 2015.

“In response to our survey findings, it’s right that today’s youth should be concerned about their future. In today’s economic climate, going to university does not guarantee a job upon graduation.

“It’s also very concerning that school leavers don’t really know the cost of going to university and think its £22,000 when the reality is more than double this figure as stated by the Government.

“Also there is a lot of naivety around apprenticeship schemes and the UK tourism industry. Therefore, I am hopeful that our JuMP initiative will help dismiss these outdated, snobbish views and that today’s youth will see the potential of becoming a leader; in a powerhouse industry of the future.”

To take a better look at the accommodation available at Travelodge visit www.infotel.co.uk

The UK budget hotel market has grown by 35%, since the onset of the recession in 2008.

Research conducted by Marvin Gold consulting, has found that since 2008; 20,000 rooms have been added to the budget sector and it is now set to squeeze out independent and mid-market brands by 2030.

The economic downturn in the last three years has not restricted the UK branded budget hotel sector, which has thrived, with supply growing by 35%.

Market share of branded budget accommodation has accelerated from 12% (end of 2007) to 16% of rooms in the UK serviced accommodation sector.

Travelodge and Premier Inn have been predominately dominated the increase, opening hundreds of new hotels across the UK via new developments, acquisitions and conversions of run-down independent and mid-market hotels.

Travelodge has opened 131 new hotels, 9,520 rooms and created over 1,500 new jobs. Direct conversion of existing supply has accounted for forty per cent of the new openings during this period. 

 Melvin Gold said: “Our latest findings reveal the branded budget sector is the most dynamic segment of the UK hotel industry. It has certainly out performed our 2007 analysis in supply terms. This is predominately due to the economy which has created more consumer demand and caused independent and mid-market hotels to become available for acquisition. Our report also contains new data depicting trading outperformance of the branded budget sector compared to other segments of the UK hotel industry

“The UK branded budget hotel sector has grown 10% per annum in the past decade and exceeded 20% in the prior decade. It’s the fastest growing part of our industry and in the next two decades we can expect to see a UK budget hotel being built, opened or converted every five days.”

Findings from the second UK serviced accommodation supply study commissioned by Travelodge revealed that the total number of serviced bedrooms in the UK at present stands at 729,000 with the budget sector currently at 115,000 – an increase of 35% from 2007 when total budget rooms was 85,665.

The UK at only16% share remains a growing market for branded budget accommodation. However it is well behind matured markets such as the USA (which has 33%) and France (which has 25%) of branded budget accommodation supply. 

For cheap rates on all hotel requirements visit www.infotel.co.uk.

THREE 20m high wind turbines are to be sited at Springfields Retail Outlet’s Travelodge in Spalding to provide electricity for the 43-bedroom hotel.

The helical wind turbines stand five metres high and will be mounted on columns 15 metres high at the back of the earth mound fronting the A16 bypass.

The Travelodge hotel was given planning consent in 2006 with South Holland District Council imposing a condition that ten per cent of its power should come from a renewable source.

Planning consent for the turbines has now been finalised in line with the condition.

Tracey Turnell, spokeswoman for the shopping centre said the wind turbines will be installed later this year but no date has yet been fixed.

She continued: “They will be something to be quite proud of. We hope they will be unusual, stylish as well as functional.”

For great rates at Spalding Travelodge visit http://www.infotel.co.uk/hotels/united_kingdom/lincolnshire/spalding/travelodge_spalding

Following research from Hogg Robinson Group, it has been found that Hotel Rates in 2010 across Europe have fallen for the second year running.

Although over half of the 75 cities around the world surveyed reported an increase in average room rates year on year, many European cities showed a drop of rates to as much as 11%.

Local economic crisis resulted in Dublin, Athens, Madrid and Lisbon seeing the biggest fall in prices.

However, the UK has seen most hotel prices return to growth.  London particular has benefited from the recovery of the banking and finance sector, with a strong growth of 3%, this has also been helped by overseas travellers making the most of the pounds weakness.

Higher quality accommodation also faired better than budget accommodation, and for the sixth year in succession Moscow had the highest average room rates globally, although they fell 12% in local currency and 3% in GBP, year on year.

In Africa and Asia Pacific average hotel prices rose to above pre-recession levels and many of the strongest 2010 rates of growth were in emerging markets.

In the US and Canadian hotel rates increased as the dollar strengthened.  New York, which saw a 9% drop in average prices in 2009, saw a rise of 4% last year.

In contrast, hotel prices in the Middle East plummeted due to the region's economic problems. 

 Abu Dhabi, which had the second highest room rates in 2009, saw prices drop 25% last year, leaving it in 19^th place.

Hogg Robinson Group commercial director Stewart Harvey said that although business travel was increasing, companies were keeping a firm grip on the purse-strings.

 "The tight business travel policies and budgets from the last few years have remained in place," he said.

To view cheap rates on all UK and global hotels visit www.infotel.co.uk.

 Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Duncan Bannantyne has declared war on travel website Tripadvisor.

Following negative feedback appeared on the site for Bannatyne’s Charlton House Spa hotel in Somerset, the hotel and leisure tycoon is considering suing the site which holds approximately 35 million traveller reviews.

The reviewer had compared the hotel to John Clees character Basil Fawlty’s Fawlty Towers.

In reply Duncan Bannatyne described the feedback as “a dishonest bid to get a refund”.

On TripAdvisor itself, Bannantyne told The Telegraph that TripAdvisor had been cajoling him not to make a fuss and had even removed positive reviews on his other hotels as to punish him.

He said: “They have tried to bully me, they have sent threatening letters and emails, they have urged me to shut up, but they won’t speak to me directly."

Duncan Bannatyne now plans to start a campaign to persuade TripAdvisor to act when “dishonest” reviews are placed and remove them.

Adding: “'TripAdvisor is a despicable and cowardly organisation, which is bullying small hotel owners all over the United Kingdom.

“As a recent victim of a rogue review, I am well placed to lead the campaign for more protection against the perils of TripAdvisor.”

TripAdvisor has reponded by saying that a team of quality assurance specialists check reviews regularly and that all hoteliers are given a variety of means of redress via the site.

However, TripAdvisor has responded do these claims, stating that hoteliers are offered the right to response to every review posted.

Spokesperson for TripAdvisor Emma O’Boyle said "In the case of Mr Bannatyne's hotels we have had several worrying examples of individuals being intimidated by Mr Bannatyne and his hotel representatives.

"For example, Mr Bannatyne posted the personal mobile number and email address of one reviewer and accused them of being the 'Most dishonest person of 2010' to his some 250,000 twitter followers."

TripAdvisor has a "zero tolerance" approach on bullying and has written to the hotel's manager to say it does not condone such behaviour.

O'Boyle said: "We also take fraud very seriously and will investigate these occasions thoroughly and unverified reviews can be removed from the site, as has been the case with reviews on Bannatyne hotels."

A spokesperson for Bannatyne said: "Mr Bannatyne did not post the phone number of reviewer, he simply retweeted it, and it was someone else who put it out in the public domain."

To see the hotel for yourself, checkout the great rates on Infotel at http://www.infotel.co.uk/hotels/united_kingdom/somerset/wells/charlton_house

 Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Duncan Bannantyne has declared war on travel website Tripadvisor.

Following negative feedback appeared on the site for Bannatyne’s Charlton House Spa hotel in Somerset, the hotel and leisure tycoon is considering suing the site which holds approximately 35 million traveller reviews.

The reviewer had compared the hotel to John Clees character Basil Fawlty’s Fawlty Towers.

In reply Duncan Bannatyne described the feedback as “a dishonest bid to get a refund”.

On TripAdvisor itself, Bannantyne told The Telegraph that TripAdvisor had been cajoling him not to make a fuss and had even removed positive reviews on his other hotels as to punish him.

He said: “They have tried to bully me, they have sent threatening letters and emails, they have urged me to shut up, but they won’t speak to me directly."

Duncan Bannatyne now plans to start a campaign to persuade TripAdvisor to act when “dishonest” reviews are placed and remove them.

Adding: “'TripAdvisor is a despicable and cowardly organisation, which is bullying small hotel owners all over the United Kingdom.

“As a recent victim of a rogue review, I am well placed to lead the campaign for more protection against the perils of TripAdvisor.”

TripAdvisor has reponded by saying that a team of quality assurance specialists check reviews regularly and that all hoteliers are given a variety of means of redress via the site.

However, TripAdvisor has responded do these claims, stating that hoteliers are offered the right to response to every review posted.

Spokesperson for TripAdvisor Emma O’Boyle said "In the case of Mr Bannatyne's hotels we have had several worrying examples of individuals being intimidated by Mr Bannatyne and his hotel representatives.

"For example, Mr Bannatyne posted the personal mobile number and email address of one reviewer and accused them of being the 'Most dishonest person of 2010' to his some 250,000 twitter followers."

TripAdvisor has a "zero tolerance" approach on bullying and has written to the hotel's manager to say it does not condone such behaviour.

O'Boyle said: "We also take fraud very seriously and will investigate these occasions thoroughly and unverified reviews can be removed from the site, as has been the case with reviews on Bannatyne hotels."

A spokesperson for Bannatyne said: "Mr Bannatyne did not post the phone number of reviewer, he simply retweeted it, and it was someone else who put it out in the public domain."

To see the hotel for yourself, checkout the great rates on Infotel at http://www.infotel.co.uk/hotels/united_kingdom/somerset/wells/charlton_house

One of the eagerly awaited highlights at this years HBAA Annual dinner was the presentation of the Tim Gasson Award, which recognises the commitment of an individual member of the HBAA towards advancing the values of the HBAA and further commitment to its progress.

Tim Gasson was a founding member of the association.  His commitment to excellence and desire to improve standards in our Industry was a shining example of the values which the HBAA hold true.  Before becoming Chair in 2007 Tim held several positions on the Executive Committee.  Sadly Tim died during that year, and the Executive Committee decided to remember him by creating this award in his name.

The 450 guests at this years annual dinner, held in London’s Hilton Metropole Hotel, applauded Commercial Director of Infotel Solutions Susie Christie, and outgoing Chair of the association events committee, as she received the award.

Before presenting the award Stephen Usher, 2010 HBAA Chair commented “Susie has given absolute dedication to providing the association with well organised events, in particular Susie took a delayed honeymoon in 2008 after marrying James to look after the annual forum”.

Infotel Solutions Limited is the parent company of hotel and venue booking agencies www.infotel.co.uk, www.findmeahotelroom.com and www.findmeaconference.com.

The UK’s fastest growing hotel company, Travelodge, has announced it is investing £300 million into building 35 hotels (3,667 rooms) this year.

This will see the company's estate grow to 495 hotels and 35,841 hotel rooms, in turn creating 700 new jobs in the UK.

In addition, Travelodge has also announced it has increased its growth targets and plans to have 1,100 hotels and 100,000 rooms by 2025.

Travelodge Chief Executive, Guy Parsons, said: "The hotels we will build this year have been a result of Travelodge’s commitment to expand during the recession whilst many companies put their development on hold. Last year we exchanged on 96 sites making it a record year. Fifty two of these exchanges were part of the biggest transaction in the hotel sector since 2008 with the pub chain Mitchells & Butlers".

"As a result of the recession, we have successfully acquired superior sites due to lower market property prices, which otherwise would not have been available for hotel use.

"We have demonstrated our commitment to expand and have a clear growth plan laid out which means we will reach over 1,100 hotels and 100,000 rooms by 2025."

Since September 15th 2008, Travelodge has opened and exchanged on 13,900 hotel rooms, equaling 4.3 million sq ft, more than any other leisure company in Britain.

Travelodge will become the largest single hotel brand in London this spring by opening three more hotels, with a further 5 being built in the capital.

Birmingham will see three additional hotels built, with NEC, Carrs Lane and The Bullring pinpointed as new sites.

In fact over half of the Travelodge hotels being built this year are situated in major UK cities, Manchester MEN Arena and University, Cardiff, Liverpool, Cambridge, Hull, Bristol, Lancaster and Canterbury will all see developments.

Guy Parsons continued: "Our aggressive growth plan has continued to drive Travelodge's presence in city centres where over half of our hotels are now located.

"With our new 2011 London openings we will become the largest hotel brand in the capital this spring whilst our Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham hotels will be some of the biggest within our estate".

In addition there are five hotel openings in coastal locations which include: Morecombe, New Brighton, Paignton, Portishead and Ramsgate.

Travelodge is also opening a hotel at the airport in Spain’s third largest city Valencia.

17th January is likely to be the busiest day for online holiday booking according to many in the industry, including Travelsupermarket.

With operators, hotels and carriers slashing prices and increasing offers, customers are in a great position to take advantage and escape the UK weather.

With overseas hotels not attracting VAT, the prices have avoided an increase.

Make the most of the opportunity and look at the overseas hotel offers at www.infotel.co.uk.

Are you enjoying the busiest holiday booking day of the year?

Visa Europe estimate that based on previous years data over 87,000 flights will be booked by British holidaymakers on 11/01/11.

Visa Europe suggests that the Monday and Tuesday of the second week of January is consistently the busiest day of the holiday booking year, where UK cardholders flight bookings reaches its peak.

In 2010, the equivalent Tuesday (12 January) peaked at over 83,000 bookings were made using Visa cards, whilst in 2009 nearly 70,000 were made on the corresponding day (Tuesday 13 January).

With airlines likely to cut prices and the cold weather continuing it is predicted that this year will create an even bigger rush.

European destinations were the most popular last January, and it is expected to be similar this year with venues such as Malaga, Amsterdam and Alicante topping the list.

For hotels in worldwide destinations check Infotel’s offers at http://www.infotel.co.uk/hotels/browse.aspx

Hotels in London enjoyed another healthy November, with most of Britain’s other regional hotels having a steady month.

Figures from hotel consultants PKF showed that London Hotels saw a rise in room rate, room occupancy and rooms yield compared to the same month in 2009.

Room rate increased 10.5% to £147.54, with occupancy rising 0.3% to 86.0% and rooms yield increasing 10.8% to £126.88.

Regionally, hoteliers results were generally positive, although somewhat mixed.

Overall, regional occupancy increased 4.0% to 69.6%, room rate decreased by 0.9% to £63.74 and rooms yield increased 5.0% to £44.34.

Although Manchester and Leeds enjoying good months, Edinburgh did not perform as well as the other major cities.

Occupancy in Edinburgh was down 1.6% to 74.1%, room rate down 1.9% to 81.73% and rooms yield 3.4% to £60.56.

Speaking on the results, Robert Barnard, partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF, said: “November appeared to be a generally steady month across the board which is great for the industry.

“The December figures could be more interesting as the majority of the snow disruption fell into this month. This can be both good and bad for hoteliers, with some losing out on bookings because travellers cannot get to their destination, while others benefit from stranded passengers looking for a bed for the night.

“Looking into 2011, I have mentioned previously that the government’s spending cuts are likely to impact regional hotels, but on the flip side, for London, the royal wedding could provide a welcome boost.” 

For the best rates on hotels in the UK’s major cities view www.infotel.co.uk or London Hotels, Manchester Hotels, Leeds Hotels and Edinburgh Hotels

Hotels in London enjoyed another healthy November, with most of Britain’s other regional hotels having a steady month.

Figures from hotel consultants PKF showed that London Hotels saw a rise in room rate, room occupancy and rooms yield compared to the same month in 2009.

Room rate increased 10.5% to £147.54, with occupancy rising 0.3% to 86.0% and rooms yield increasing 10.8% to £126.88.

Regionally, hoteliers results were generally positive, although somewhat mixed.

Overall, regional occupancy increased 4.0% to 69.6%, room rate decreased by 0.9% to £63.74 and rooms yield increased 5.0% to £44.34.

Although Manchester and Leeds enjoying good months, Edinburgh did not perform as well as the other major cities.

Occupancy in Edinburgh was down 1.6% to 74.1%, room rate down 1.9% to 81.73% and rooms yield 3.4% to £60.56.

Spraking on the results, Robert Barnard, partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF, said: “November appeared to be a generally steady month across the board which is great for the industry.

“The December figures could be more interesting as the majority of the snow disruption fell into this month. This can be both good and bad for hoteliers, with some losing out on bookings because travellers cannot get to their destination, while others benefit from stranded passengers looking for a bed for the night.

“Looking into 2011, I have mentioned previously that the government’s spending cuts are likely to impact regional hotels, but on the flip side, for London, the royal wedding could provide a welcome boost.”

After criticism for its response to snow, the boss of Heathrow airport is to forego his bonus.

Snow-hit air and rail firms begin clearing their passenger backlog following the cold snap chaos.

Colin Matthews said his focus was on getting people moving and rebuilding confidence in the airport, which was criticised for its response to snow.

Heavy snow is still expected to hit Yorkshire, the Midlands and eastern England.

On Tuesday evening, Heathrow reopened its second runway and is now running two-thirds of services, but warned travellers not to expect services to return to normal straight away and to travel to the airport only if their departure was confirmed.

Delays and cancellations are reported on train services run by Northern Rail, First Great Western, First Capital Connect, National Express East Anglia, The Docklands Light Railway and Virgin Trains on the West Coast main line, and Arriva Trains Wales.

It is advisable to contact National Enquiries for all rail information.

With temperatures dropping below –20.1C in parts of the UK, travelling is again disrupted, with the weather causing many delays, and more cold weather is being forecast for the Christmas period.

If the weather is causing you havoc then infotel have hotels across the UK to ensure a safe night.

www.infotel.co.uk 

Hotels near Airports in London Heathrow are making the most of the snow crisis, charging stranded passengers a premium for a bed for the night.

Although some hotels close to Heathrow still have empty rooms, as potential customers may be preferring to sleep in terminal buildings instead paying the higher reates.

The average room rate for a hotel close to Heathrow tomorrow night is £119.

As travellers find themselves stranded due to the weather conditions, availability for rooms around Heathrow is at a premium.

Infotel have found that searches for hotels near the airport are up 60 per cent on last years figures for the period between last Saturday’s snowfall and today.

 For great rates on airports at Heathrow checkout http://bit.ly/hwM0db

Flights to Jordan will be served for the first time from Gatwick, operated by EasyJet. 

Easyjet have announced that from 28^th March they will operate flights to the Jordanian capital three times a week.

Return trip fares start from £106, including taxes.

The European Union this week signed an historic Open Skies agreement with Jordan.

Easyjet has also announced that it will launch services to Izmir in Turkey, Verona and Bologna in Italy, Seville, and Aberdeen from Gatwick for next summer.

Aberdeen, Verona and Bologna are all daily services, while Izmir is twice a week and Seville is four times a week.

For hotels near Gatwick Airport visit http://www.infotel.co.uk/hotels/results.aspx?dupdone=true&criteria=GATWICK+AIRPORT&searchtype=citytown&country=GB&state=West+Sussex&checkin=&checkout=

A month-long ballot of British Airways cabin crew starts next Tuesday and will end on 21 January.  The union

Unite will ballot British Airways cabin crew next week for strike action over the half-term holidays.

The action could also be extended to cause disruption over the period over Easter and even effect the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29.

The Unite union has given BA chiefs seven days notice of its intention to ballot cabin crew members on strike action.  

The union would have to give an additional seven days notice of a strike date, although they may continue to strike for up to three months after that date without having to hold another ballot.

Unite said the ballot is over the following five outstanding issues:

1. The immediate restoration of staff travel concessions, in full, to the crew from whom they were taken by BA.
2. Binding arbitration, through ACAS, of all cabin crew disciplinary cases related to the original dispute.
3. The restoration of all earnings docked from crew who were genuinely off sick during strike dates.
4. Full and proper discussion of the trade union facilities agreement at the company with the immediate removal of all threats and sanctions made by BA in relation to this.
5. The introduction of mixed fleet on different terms and conditions without the agreement of the trade union.

Tony Woodley , Unite joint general secretary said: "British Airways knows what it must do to end this dispute. Four of the five outstanding issues are no cost issues for the airline and are about treating cabin crew with dignity, respect and ending the climate of persecution. The fifth item is about stopping BA from imposing a near minimum waged workforce and killing their brand.

"Unite is still open to talks but BA must appreciate the strength of feeling across the airline about how badly they've handled this dispute. BA must get serious and work with us to settle the issues before us."

BA immediately issued a statement saying Unite had reneged on a deal struck in October.

“The union agreed last week to hold further talks with us, but has instead issued a strike ballot. It continues to be riven by internal divisions and its behaviour remains dysfunctional,” said the airline.

“We have put forward very fair proposals that enable our existing Heathrow crew to remain the best rewarded in the UK airline industry. Despite the difficult economic conditions we have faced, we have made savings in ways that have avoided compulsory redundancies.

“Industrial action would be a grossly disproportionate response to the issues that Unite continues to press.

“Should any industrial action take place, we are confident that our well-established contingency plans will allow us to operate normal timetables at Gatwick and London City airports. At Heathrow, we will aim to run a substantial proportion of our short-haul programme and 100 per cent of our long haul operation.”

For hotels with airport parking visit http://www.infotel.co.uk/hotels_with/Airport_Parking_(Park_&_Fly).htm

The winners of the Hotel Marketing Association's 2010 Hotel Awards were announced during a ceremony at London's Simpson's in the Strand hotel on December 13th.

Premier Inn, Intercontinental Hotels and De Vere Hotels all scooped top awards and Elspeth Beattie of Principal Hayley Hotels and Conference Venues was named the industry's Young Marketer of the Year.

"Elspeth took an unknown brand and established it within all areas of marketing," said Andrea McKay, chairman of the Hotel Marketing Association.

To view and book principal hayleys collection http://www.infotel.co.uk/hotels/results.aspx?criteria=principal+hayley+collec...

Whitbread's Premier Inn won the award for Best Digital Marketing Activity for the relaunch of its website at premierinn.com.

Find the best rates at Premier Inn at http://www.infotel.co.uk/hotels/results.aspx?criteria=premier+inn&searcht...

De Vere Hotels won the Best Marketing Activity on a Small Budget prize for the second year running for its 10.10.10 Leisure campaign.

For De Vere hotels visit http://www.infotel.co.uk/hotels/results.aspx?criteria=de+vere&searchtype=...