Dear Reader

HAS the bubble burst for those hotels in the UK charging close to £1,000 — or even more — for a standard room, breakfast not included?

Perhaps it’s too early to make a judgment but this week, many of the grand old hotels and the flash new pretenders have been half empty — although they would say half full.

I called in on Wednesday at one venerable Mayfair institution and only two tables were occupied in the restaurant, and no one was in the bar.

Admittedly, the period between New Year and Easter — the London black cab trade calls it ‘kipper season’ — is slow but you can sense the trepidation.

Relying on wealthy guests from the Middle East to book these super-pricey rooms comes with its own risks, especially this year with Ramadan, which started on

March 11, and ends around April 9. And I feel sorry for the likes of Raffles at the OWO in Whitehall, pictured (rooms starting at £1,100 a night), where there are often political rallies passing by at the weekend.

The percentage of British people who can afford a billet for £1,000 a night is tiny. So the obvious thing to do is drop your rates — but that comes with risks, too.

‘Once you drop it’s very hard to raise it again — and it doesn’t send out a positive message, either,’ is how one general manager put it.

Visit Britain reports that hotel room occupancy for January across the country was on a par with those from 2019 — but it might be a different story for top-end London hotels.

There are just too many of them competing for too small a market.

I would argue that quietly cutting rates might be a less negative message than seeing check-in staff twiddling their thumbs.