Event planners will have greater access to hotel rooms during the Olympics after The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) confirmed that more than 120,000 room nights will be returned to London hotels.

The organiser said that approximately 20 per cent of hotel room nights at more than 200 hotels will now be available to visitors to London this summer.

As part of the bid to stage the London 2012 Games, agreements were struck with hotels in 2005 to provide more than 40,000 hotel rooms, representing more than 600,000 room nights. These rooms are to provide accommodation for the world’s media, International Sport Federations, the International Olympic Committee, people working at the Games and sponsors. LOCOG promised to return any unwanted rooms back to the hotels so they could sell them in time for the summer of 2012.

LOCOG CEO Paul Deighton, said: “The hotel industry in London got behind the bid to stage the Games in the most extraordinary way and that support helped us across the line. We always promised that we would not hold on to hotel rooms we didn’t need but return them to the individual hotels at the beginning of 2012. We are now doing this and I hope that this enables the hotels to continue with their planning for this summer as we all work together to stage a spectacular Games.”

Gordon Innes, CEO of London & Partners, added: “We are delighted that LOCOG is releasing hotel stock back into the market place, and London can deliver on its promise to make these ‘everyone’s Games’. We look forward to working with our hotel partners in the capital to ensure that domestic and international visitors enjoy being in the best big city on earth at this magical time.”

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