Without a doubt, the global financial crunch has affected practically every industry. We've seen the devastation of the automotive industry, the backlash to the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, and there have even been ripples in the tech industry. The hospitality industry isn't exempt from the effects of the economic crisis, as can be evidenced by what happened to some London hotels recently.

A lot of the smaller companies within the London hospitality industry are under pressure to even survive beyond 2009, thanks to the effects of the crunch. Take Yang Sing Oriental, for example. The relatively-new hotel, with only months of operation under its belt, officially shut down near the end of the first quarter of this year.

Granted, many people including outside observers and tenants alike had praise for the accommodations at the boutique hotel. However, it seems that nothing can compensate for the timing of the launch in late 2008. The timing just wasn't very good as it met the brunt of the recession and contributed largely to the hotel's doom.

Still, there are indications that there is still no need to panic for those in the hospitality industry in London. Even with some of the companies closing down, particularly the smaller companies with no steady influx of cash, there are still some new hotels that are starting to pop up. Even tragedy breeds some form of opportunity. Some companies are able to spot trends and even weaknesses in the market and adjust their strategies accordingly.

Late in April this year, the Concept Venues Group managed to infuse some £10 million to convert a couple of townhouses in Soho's Warwick Street, turning it into the Sanctum Soho Hotel. The 30-room hotel that invites guests to "submit to pleasure" features new boxes of tricks in every room, which range from knickers to-wait for it-sex kits. The Sanctum Soho is a perfect example of creating opportunities in a dreary economic landscape, and even adding an innovative twist along the way. It's a different kind of stimulus altogether; one not based on cash, but rather on concept and development.

Of course, just because one hotel can show that it can come up with a new twist to the old formulae doesn't mean that it can weather the recession that effectively. There's still quite a large number of London hotels that compete for tenants night in and night out-1,400 or so hotels, in fact, are situated right within the capital. Even boutique hotels are a dime a dozen, it seems. That's why there's no surprise in hotel rates going down by double-digit percentages over the year.

Still, hope remains. As with many industries, there were signs in the hotel industry that showed things could have gotten much, much worse. That's why London's hotels soldier on. With continued innovations, a lot of effort, and perhaps a pinch of good fortune, it might not take too long before London hotels are thriving again amid all the busy streets of the English capital.