Whitbread confirmed that 98% of its hotel and restaurants are now open
Whitbread (LON:WTB), owner of Premier Inn, confirmed on Thursday that there are strong levels of demand at its destinations across the UK as Brits seek domestic holidays.
Whitbread, which also owns a number of restaurant companies, struggled throughout 2020 as its sites closed down, but confirmed its outlook is now positive, as restrictions across the country have eased, including hotels reopening.
Hotel sales in the UK were at 73% of their level from before the pandemic as domestic tourism surged post-lockdown.
Whitbread confirmed that 98% of its hotel and restaurants are now open. It also said that forward booking trends in tourist locations over the summer were strong, aside from central London and airport locations.
For the year ending in February, Whitbread lost £1bn, while it let go of 6,000 staff in September.
Alison Brittain, chief executive of Whitbread said:
“The Group traded significantly ahead of the market during the quarter, despite the impact of the UK Government restrictions that were in place for the majority of the first quarter. Trading in the UK since May 17, when overnight leisure stays were permitted, and when our restaurants fully reopened for indoor service, has been encouraging. Additionally, our forward bookings continue to improve, benefiting from the anticipated post-lockdown bounce in leisure demand, and a continued gradual improvement in business bookings. During the first quarter we opened 10 new hotels in the UK.”
We hold a uniquely advantaged position in the UK, built on our scale, market-leading direct distribution, and strength of the Premier Inn brand. Our position as the market leader in the fast-recovering budget sector is combined with a broad, domestic focussed customer mix. This, alongside our financial flexibility and ability to invest in our customer proposition when others are constrained, means we are well-positioned to continue our strong performance,” Brittain added.
The Whitbread share price is up by 2.69% during the morning session on Thursday to 3,378.61p.