Business travel demand remains ‘robust’ for Premier Inn

Budget hotel chain Premier Inn has continued to enjoy “robust” midweek demand from business travellers, despite overall flat sales in the UK.

Whitbread, owner of Premier Inn, said that its UK trading performance was “strengthening” as the peak summer season approaches, while it was also making “continued progress” in Germany.

The company said that its total sales for the 13 weeks up to 30 May had risen by 1 per cent to £739 million compared to same period in 2023. Total UK sales came in at the same level as last year, while Germany saw a 15 per cent year-on-year rise, helped by the opening of new properties.

“While midweek business demand and peak leisure demand remained robust, weekend demand at short lead was slightly softer, particularly in London, reflecting a return to more normalised levels after what was a very strong performance last year,” said the company in its trading update to investors.

Average room rate at Premier Inn’s properties in London was £109.12 during the quarter – down by 2.3 per cent on the same period of last year, while occupancy in the UK capital also fell back by 2.6 percentage points to 78.6 per cent.

Elsewhere in the UK, average room rates were flat year-on-year at £71, while occupancy only slipped by 0.5 points to 83.6 per cent.

In Germany, Premier Inn achieved a 3.6 per cent year-on-year rise in average room rate to €87.88, while occupancy ticked up by just 0.2 points to 64.6 per cent in the quarter.

Dominic Paul, Whitbread’s CEO, said: “Our UK trading results strengthened during the quarter and we continued to grow accommodation sales ahead of the market. In Germany, we delivered another strong performance, led by the increasing maturity of our estate and continued room growth.

“Whilst the normal booking pattern means our forward visibility remains limited, our forward booked position is positive and we remain confident in the full year outlook. This reflects a more encouraging trading performance in the UK, our strong commercial programme and increased cost efficiencies, as well as good progress in Germany.”