"Our central London and (Royal Castle) Windsor hotels are fully booked and demand is increasing for properties near a train or tube station in the Greater London area," the hotel chain comments to low cost Travelodge.

In a press release to AFP, she specifies that the reservations come "from all over the United Kingdom and the planet".

The director of industry association UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, confirms that London hotels are "seeing a jump in bookings since the announcement of the death of Her Majesty Elizabeth II on Thursday".

She adds that the demand should remain high until Monday, the day of the funeral, in part because of the increased needs for the accommodation of the police and other personnel necessary for the organization and the security of an event of this scale.

Available rooms becoming scarce, prices soared on Tuesday.

A rudimentary, windowless "cocoon" room in Picadilly Circus, in the heart of the capital, was offered at 260 pounds (300 euros).

Another in a hotel near Paddington Station at 315 pounds, with no windows, no breakfast.

At a hotel unequivocally named "Snoozebox" near Stratford, Greater London, the rate was cheaper - £76 for two bunk beds - but still no window and barely the place to turn around.

Same picture in Edinburgh in recent days where the Scottish capital has also been faced with an influx of visitors to pay their last respects to the late sovereign, before the transfer of her coffin to London for the state funeral.

A spokesperson for Downing Street acknowledged on Monday that there were going to be "huge people" in London in the coming days, recalling that 200,000 people had come to the capital for the funeral of the Queen Mother and that "we are waiting many more people than that".

Without going so far as to ask companies to opt for teleworking, he nevertheless diplomatically suggests that “some people may wish to change their working methods” until the end of the week.

The Network Rail company, which manages the railway lines, expects "unprecedented influx to the capital, particularly from Wednesday".

It warns users to "plan more time" for their journeys, especially in the event of delays on the lines or the untimely closure of certain stations, and invites those who can ... to walk.

© 2022 AFP