Hotel Owner April 2018 | Page 13

MONTH IN REVIEW GO ONLINE www.hotelowner.co.uk REVENUE Travelodge beats expectations with 6.6% revenue jump Travelodge has reported a 6.6% increase in revenue to £637.1m, outperforming the STR MSE segment by 0.7%. The group attributed the growth to the launch of the a premium economy concept, ‘SuperRooms’. For the year-end 31 December 2017 RevPAR was also up 2.9% to £40.49 (2016: £39.37), average room rate was up 2.8% to £53.19 and occupancy was maintained at 76.1%. The chain, which as of December 2017 had 558 hotels and 42,110 rooms on offer, also saw EBITDA rise £2.3m to £112.4m. Peter Gowers, chief executive said: “Our continued focus on quality and service is delivering good results. Rising sales from business customers, boosted by our new SuperRooms, helped drive strong sales growth, with like-for-like RevPAR once again ahead of the competitive segment. This helped mitigate the significant macroeconomic and external cost pressures facing the sector and deliver another year of progress for the business. “Over the last four years we have strengthened Travelodge considerably. We have upgraded our estate, opened over 50 new hotels, launched our new SuperRooms and now have more than 170 hotels with on-site bar cafes.” April 2018 1 2 ACQUISITION EasyHotel secures lease for 100-room Cambridge property EasyHotel, the owner, developer and operator of ‘super budget’ branded hotels has announced that it has signed a 25-year lease to build a new hotel in Cambridge. The site is to be developed into a new purpose-built 100-room EasyHotel, expected to open in 2019. Cambridge is a popular tourist destination, famous for its university and museums. It is also home to Silicon Fen, one of the UK’s most dynamic technology hubs. The Cambridge hotel market has experienced strong growth in recent years and suitable development sites are in high demand. Cambridge will be the group’s third leased site. The hotel will be let on a 25-year FRI (fully repairing and insuring) lease at an annual rent of approximately £625,000. The hotel will be developed by MP Merchant, in line with EasyHotel’s specifications. The new lease is a part of the group’s expansion through owned and franchise hotel development, with the group considering leased sites on a specific and limited basis for strategic locations where the acquisition of freehold or long freehold interests do not meet the board’s strict investment criteria. The Cambridge site takes EasyHotel’s pipeline of owned/leased development projects to 1,041 rooms , adding one of the UK’s most thriving and popular cities to our network Guy Parsons, CEO, EasyHotel 3 4 5 6 7 8 TOP 3 FROM THE WEBSITE 1. OTA’s set to dominate market unless hotels up their ‘digital game’ 2. Starboard Hotels acquires hotel portfolio from Carillion 3. Hotel Cafe Royal to open new restaurant run by chef Laurent Tourondel INVESTMENT Luxury Lodges announces £15m investment into Laugharne resort Luxury Lodges, a collection of hotel-quality, self-catering lodges across the UK, has announced a £15m investment into its resort in Laugharne, South Wales. The resort, designed to make the most of its location southwest Welsh Taf estuary, will encompass an infinity swimming pool, an outside hydrotherapy pool, a panoramic sauna, and an elevated restaurant and bar. The first stage of development is underway; with plans to unveil the £5m clubhouse in late spring 2019. Laugharne will join Luxury Lodges’ portfolio of self-catering resorts, which includes Clowance and Burn in Cornwall, Whitbarrow in the Lake District, a UNESCO World Heritage Centre, and Brunston in Ayrshire Scotland. www.hotelowner.co.uk 13