THE 139-room Four Seasons Hotel Canary Wharf opens in December, and is expected to achieve an occupancy of around 65% in its first year of operation.
Investment bankers visiting the fast-developing business district in London’s Docklands area are likely to make up the core clientele for the hotel.
Four Seasons regional vice-president John Stauss said he did not expect the Canary Wharf hotel to poach business from its sister property, the well established Four Seasons Park Lane.
“It will not really be competing with our existing hotel. Most of the people who go to Canary Wharf on business do not stay in our Park Lane hotel because we are not near the City of London.
“However, they do stay with us globally, so having a hotel near the City is a logical step.”
Despite the strong dependence on the banking and investment market, Stauss is confident the hotel will not have a seasonality problem.
He said: “There are some seasonal fluctuations, but no dramatic peaks and valleys.”
Though the room rates for the Four Seasons Canary Wharf have not yet been set, Stauss said they would be lower than the published rates at the Four Seasons Park Lane, where prices lead in at ú260 a night.
As well as attracting overnight business from the corporate market, Four Seasons Canary Wharf will be targeting the meetings and conference sector. Stauss is also hopeful that it will appeal to the leisure market, as it is part of the Canary Riverside development which has a health club, spa, restaurants and bars.