Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association (BHA), said that some BHA members, particularly those from the top end of the hotel industry, had started to see a drop in business from some Asian countries because of the outbreak of the disease. Hong Kong has been the region most severely affected by the outbreak.

Cotton said many large banks had imposed a ban on employees travelling to and from Hong Kong after the rise in deaths from Sars and that this was affecting business at some of London’s more exclusive hotels. 'It’s early days yet, but people are watching it', he said.

William Cowpe, managing director of the 74-bedroom Goring hotel in Belgravia, said there had been a few cancellations at the hotel, but not many. He added that business had not been affected as badly as it had been in hotels in Hong Kong, where occupancy at one hotel last Friday was down to just 17%.

Anthony Lee, general manager at the 90-bedroom Connaught hotel in Mayfair, said some guest had actually extended their stay at his hotel because of the outbreak. 'We have seen people staying on with us for an extra ten days or two weeks. If it is a choice of going back to be quarantined or staying back at the Connaught, it’s not hard', he said.

Michael Shepherd, managing director of the 228-bedroom Savoy hotel on the Strand, said he had not seen a significant reduction in business from China or Hong Kong. He added that there was enough turmoil in the industry at present because of the war in Iraq and economic slowdown for any affects of Sars on business to go unnoticed. 'There is enough doom and gloom at the moment that this does not make much difference', he said.

The outbreak of Sars has been traced back to the Metropole hotel in Hong Kong. Since the first case of the disease was diagnosed in February, 2,671 people have been infected and 103 have died.

Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association (BHA), said that some BHA members, particularly those from the top end of the hotel industry, had started to see a drop in business from some Asian countries because of the outbreak of the disease. Hong Kong has been the region most severely affected by the outbreak.

Cotton said many large banks had imposed a ban on employees travelling to and from Hong Kong after the rise in deaths from Sars and that this was affecting business at some of London’s more exclusive hotels. 'It’s early days yet, but people are watching it', he said.

William Cowpe, managing director of the 74-bedroom Goring hotel in Belgravia, said there had been a few cancellations at the hotel, but not many. He added that business had not been affected as badly as it had been in hotels in Hong Kong, where occupancy at one hotel last Friday was down to just 17%.

Anthony Lee, general manager at the 90-bedroom Connaught hotel in Mayfair, said some guest had actually extended their stay at his hotel because of the outbreak. 'We have seen people staying on with us for an extra ten days or two weeks. If it is a choice of going back to be quarantined or staying back at the Connaught, it’s not hard', he said.

Michael Shepherd, managing director of the 228-bedroom Savoy hotel on the Strand, said he had not seen a significant reduction in business from China or Hong Kong. He added that there was enough turmoil in the industry at present because of the war in Iraq and economic slowdown for any affects of Sars on business to go unnoticed. 'There is enough doom and gloom at the moment that this does not make much difference', he said.

The outbreak of Sars has been traced back to the Metropole hotel in Hong Kong. Since the first case of the disease was diagnosed in February, 2,671 people have been infected and 103 have died.