Premier Inn and Beefeater owner Whitbread saw sales at its German hotels improve slightly, partially offsetting its stagnant occupancy rates in the UK.
The Bedfordshire-headquartered group grew its total sales one per cent to £739m in the 13 weeks to May 30, 2024, compared to the same period the year before.
Bosses said this was driven by “continued progress” in Germany, with total sales in its Premier Inn hotels hitting £63m compared to just under £54m in the same quarter last year, as well as UK sales recovering to match last year’s Q1 levels.
But although its London Premier Inn sales were slightly up in the UK outside the capital, growing 0.6 per cent to £374m in Q1, revenue at its London hotels fell by the same percentage point to £120m.
Whitbread said that midweek business demand and peak leisure demand both remained “robust”, however last-minute demand for weekend stays had been “slightly softer”.
In a financial report published to the London Stock Exchange the company said: “Having been one per cent behind last year in the first seven weeks, our trading performance strengthened during the remainder of the quarter and accommodation sales recovered to be in line with last year and up 55 per cent versus FY20″.
Whitbread CEO Dominic Paul added: “Underpinned by the favourable supply backdrop, total accommodation sales and RevPAR remained significantly ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
“In Germany, we delivered another strong performance, led by the increasing maturity of our estate and continued room growth.
“Our cohort of more established hotels is continuing to outperform the M&E market and we remain on course to achieve the important milestone of reaching break-even on a run-rate basis during the second half of 2024.
“Our accelerating growth plan to optimise F&B at a number of sites and add 3,500 rooms to our UK pipeline is on track and will increase our momentum to deliver long-term profitable growth.
“With significant potential in both the UK and Germany, supported by the structural reduction in supply and our asset-backed balance sheet, our strategic plans are set to deliver a step change in our performance.”
The company and its shareholders are set to come head to head with Unite the union later today when they gather for its annual general meeting at its offices in Dunstable.
Unite are planning a protest over Whitbread’s plans, announced in April, to cut 1,500 jobs.
The union says Whitbread have refused to consult with them, or answer basic questions on the redundancy process.