Pessimism declining - TRI
UK hotel managers are becoming more confident in their trading performance, a survey by TRI Hospitality Consulting has revealed.
TRI's latest Hotel Confidence Monitor found growth in optimism for a second consecutive quarter as more hoteliers expect an industry recovery.
Of the 113 GMs polled, 51% said they were optimistic about the coming quarter compared to 28% in January, TRI said.
The survey also found that 48% of hoteliers were more optimistic than three months ago "in marked contrast" to the 70% who were less optimistic in January.
"There appears to be a feeling amongst hoteliers that the worst could be behind us, with an increasing sense of confidence that we are a step nearer to recovery," TRI's managing director Jonathan Langston said.
TRI said 43% of respondents predicted either growth in room occupancy or no change this quarter compared to Q3 2008.
But optimism in this quarter's average room rate is not as high with eight out of ten GMs expecting a decline.
Only 19% of respondents said they expected to maintain or increase revenue per available room (revPAR).
Around seven out of ten respondents said they intended to increase or maintain their Q3 2009 marketing budgets.
TRI added: "Despite continued pressures to cut cost, sales and marketing expenditure remains largely unaffected."
The level of hotel staffing looks set to increase this year with 85% saying they intended to hire more, TRI found.
www.trihc.com