As the number of people traveling through Heathrow Airport has increased, the availability of hotel rooms to handle the numbers has remained the same. Because of the need of hotel space in that area, a 70 million pound venture including two hotels close to the airport is in the works. Lord Laidlaw, one of Scotland’s richest men, is collaborating with construction company Rokeby Developments on the project. They are planning one hotel connected to Terminal 5 that will feature 600 rooms and another hotel that is close to the airport.

Lord Laidlaw and Rokeby Developments began planning the new hotels after the concern about an under-provision of hotel rooms was expressed. They both believe that upon completion of their projects, the shortage in the area will be addressed. However, more hotels are going to be required once Terminal 5, the first of the two planned hotels, opens due to the number of passengers using the airport. With the completion and full operation of Terminal 5, the problem of the shortage of hotel rooms will be lessened, but not completely solved.

Terminal 5 has great potential to improve many aspects of the area around Heathrow. Not only will there be a potential improvement of infrastructure for the capital as people are able to stay close to the airport, there will also likely be an increase in tourism in the area as people will spend less time traveling to their accommodations and more will have more time to sight see. People coming to London for the 2012 Olympics will likely enjoy staying so close to the airport because of their intention to attend Olympic related events and not travel about the country. These hotels will be a timely addition to address the competitive market that will arise as people travel to London for this event.

London is one of the top destinations for international travel. 2006 was a record year for overseas visitors to London and hotels in the area have had their strongest performance levels since the late’90s. Due to the current market for hotel accommodations in the area, Lord Laidlaw and Rokeby Developments are very likely to have success with their hotel ventures.

Because of the need to accommodate the growing number of passengers, the airport and the surrounding area is going to need to expand in areas like parking, hotels, and the number of flights available. This is likely to cause debates with those anti-expansion groups, such as HASAN, that oppose such growth. However, if the airport is going to see 80,000 extra passengers per day, accommodations such as increased parking space will be necessary.

The new terminal has greatly increased the capacity of Heathrow. When the 4.2 billion pound new terminal opened in March 2008, the capacity of the airport increased by 30 million passengers a year, taking the total number of passengers to 90 million. There are several things that are going to have to happen as a result of the increased number of travelers, not just an increase in the number of hotels. Transportation links are a necessity, including trains, buses, and Heathrow Airport London parking.

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