Premier Inn has cause for optimism as staycations look set to boom

‘Anywhere with a beach or a view’ all but fully booked for the summer says Premier Inn CEO

Premier Inn (LON:WTB) is enjoying a surge in bookings as Brits settle for staycations over the summer holidays.

The prospect of guests booking every room out at 15% of its over 800 hotels located in touristy destinations is welcomed news after the pandemic caused Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, to fall to a full-year loss of £1bn.

Alison Brittain, the Whitbread chief executive, said that the financial year ended in February 25 had been one of the most difficult in its nearly 300 year history, however she as he said that the FTSE 100 company was in a good position to capitalise as restrictions are lifted across the country.

While its hotels will be fully opened from May 17, Brittain said that “anywhere with a beach or a view” was all but fully booked for the summer.

The Premier Inn CEO said the magnitude of the pent-up demand has caused people to think far in advance.

“We opened up the bookings for Cheltenham 2022 a year in advance and we were fully booked within 48 hours at all our hotels within quite a wide mileage. This shows that people are thinking ahead to things they have missed out on during the pandemic,” she said.

Amisha Chohan, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot commented further on the results:

“The pandemic pain is temporary, and the business will be one of the big beneficiaries of the post-lockdown bounceback and staycation boom. In fact, in the second half of 2020, the group was successful in winning market-share, suggesting the market has become more concentrated as competitors were forced to exit the market.”

“Premier Inn, in particular, is primed to take advantage of a ‘leisure bounce’ and could be an interesting recovery play once the economy springs back to life. The hotel chain will emerge from the crisis stronger, opening between 2-3,000 rooms in the UK and 2,000 in Germany, and will see an upside from the acceleration of the vaccine rollout in the UK and across Europe,” Chohan said.

“The reopening of the UK economy and restrictions on international travel will provide a boost to Premier Inn, particularly in the coastal and tourist locations which account for around 15% of the chain’s overall estate. A full recovery in leisure demand will require the return of unrestricted events later on this year.”