Premier Inn’s sales tumble
WHITBREAD, Britain’s biggest hotel operator, yesterday blamed the worst hotel recession in three decades for a sharp fall in first quarter revenues at budget hotel chain Premier Inn.
The group said Premier Inn’s like-for-like sales fell by 7.9 per cent, after revenue per available room (Revpar) slumped by 9.6 per cent.
Chief executive Alan Parker said: “We are currently facing the worst hotel recession for thirty years and Premier Inn is not immune to it.”
In previous months, Premier Inn has benefited from corporate clients trading down as companies slash spending.
Parker said the firm would now going to “use its muscle” as the biggest hotel chain to coax holiday travellers into its empty rooms during the summer, with a discounted rate of £29 per room per night.
Group sales were cushioned by a stellar performance at its Costa Coffee division, which saw total sales rise by 18.5 per cent in the period, with like-for-like sales rising 2.6 per cent.
Costa Coffee attributed the jump in sales to successful marketing. It has also benefited from cash-strapped consumers trading down from premium chains like Starbucks.
Meanwhile, like-for-like sales at the group’s pub restaurants, which include the Beefeater and Brewers’ Fayre chains, rose by two percent during the quarter, after special offers proved popular.
Parker said he remained “optimistic overall”.
He added: “We’re in a good place to be, and we will be faring better in due course. But in the short term, the recession is biting, and we are suffering.”