UK-based hotel operator Premier Inn experienced “slightly lower” corporate travel demand over the summer period “in line with the wider market”.
Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn, said that it had benefited from “robust leisure demand” in the UK during the six months up to 28 August, which meant its overall performance was “in line” with the same period of 2024.
The company, which has more than 900 hotels in the UK, Ireland and Germany, added that there was also “positive momentum” in Germany where Premier Inn has been expanding in recent years.
Whitbread’s total revenue was down by 2 per cent year-on-year to £1.54 billion and adjusted pre-tax profit dropped by 6 per cent to £316 million for the six-month period.
“After a soft first quarter, our performance strengthened during the half, supported by a seasonally strong summer period and a return to market growth,” said Whitbread in its earnings announcement last week.
Premier Inn achieved an occupancy rate of 80.8 per cent in the UK, which was down from 83.1 per cent in 2024, with its London properties managing to increase average room rate by 0.6 per cent year-on-year thanks to increased leisure demand “supported by a positive events calendar”.
Outside London, the chain’s UK properties saw average prices rising at a higher rate of 2.3 per cent year-on-year.
“Although we continued to see good revenue growth via Business Booker and travel management companies, overall business demand was slightly lower in the period in line with the wider market,” said the company.
Whitbread added that it “continued to make excellent progress in driving B2B volumes” through these corporate channels “with improved account management and incentives helping to deliver increased sales and profit”. Earlier this year, Premier Inn’s content was integrated into the new Concur Travel booking platform.
Premier Inn said it currently operates around 12 per cent of the UK’s total hotel rooms with 846 properties offering more than 85,000 rooms. It plans to add another 7,800 rooms as it opens more hotels in the coming years, including properties under its hub by Premier Inn sub-brand for city centre locations.
Dominic Paul, Whitbread’s CEO, added: “We are making strong progress on our accelerating growth plan which, together with our committed pipeline of both Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn rooms, means we remain on track to reach at least 98,000 open rooms by 2030, extending our position as the clear market leader.”