Marriott reports strong Q4 results following Starwood acquisition
International visitors drive ‘ impressive ’ growth for UK hotels in 2017
River-powered Dublin hotel opens it doors
MONTH IN REVIEW
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REVENUE
Marriott reports strong Q4 results following Starwood acquisition
Marriott has reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter following its acquisition of Starwood , calling it a “ terrific year ”.
Although net income decreased , fourth quarter 2017 adjusted net income was $ 415m (£ 332m ), a 24 % increase on 2016 .
It also reported Worldwide comparable systemwide constant dollar RevPAR rose 4.6 % in the quarter , while North American comparable systemwide constant dollar RevPAR rose 3.9 %.
Adjusted earnings before interest , taxes , depreciation and amortisation in the fourth quarter hit $ 808m (£ 646m ), a 7 % increase .
Arne Sorenson , president and CEO , said : “ We made great progress on the integration of Starwood , capturing significant property and corporate overhead cost synergies while also increasing our worldwide RevPAR index .
“ We entered into a joint venture with Alibaba to better engage with Chinese customers and invested in PlacePass to provide our guests with even more experiential travel opportunities .
“ We also signed strategic new credit card agreements that will allow us to strengthen our customer offerings , generate significant benefits for our owners and franchisees , and provide higher branding fees for Marriott .”
In the first full year after acquiring Starwood , the hotel brand opened over 76,000 rooms during the year to reach over 1.25 million rooms .
Additionally Marriott ’ s development pipeline rose to a record 460,000 rooms , over 80 % of which are in the upscale , upper upscale or luxury tiers .
INBOUND VISITORS
International visitors drive ‘ impressive ’ growth for UK hotels in 2017
UK hoteliers experienced another year of encouraging growth in 2017 , driven by a significant rise in hotel demand from international visitors to the UK .
The latest full-year data from online travel agency Expedia revealed that London remained the top destination for inbound travellers , taking a market share of almost 40 % and up almost 20 % when compared with the previous year .
Other destinations that saw healthy growth included Surrey , Oxford , Yorkshire , Bristol , Birmingham and Chester .
The 2017 data also revealed that travellers coming from Spain were up by 150 %, Brazil 110 % and Argentina 105 %. There was also strong demand from Ireland (+ 85 %), Mexico (+ 85 %), India (+ 70 %), Poland (+ 60 %) and the United States (+ 40 %).
Krishan Kadodwala , director market management Expedia group , said : “ Overall our UK hotel partners enjoyed impressive growth across the board in 2017 , which is hugely encouraging .”
She added : “ Our data reveals that we are successfully working with our hotel partners to increase demand from key international markets where visitors are more likely to spend more on rooms and other services , as well as stay longer .”
Top UK destinations 2017 : 1 . London 2 . Edinburgh 3 . Manchester 4 . Birmingham 5 . East Midlands 6 . Glasgow 7 . Yorkshire 8 . Liverpool 9 . West Midlands 10 . Hampshire
HOTEL OPENINGS
River-powered Dublin hotel opens it doors
A hotel in Dublin that sources all of its power from an underground river , in a bid to become Europe ’ s most sustainable hotel , has opened its doors .
The 152-bedroom Iveagh Garden Hotel , is a new venture from owners the McGill family who have converted the 40-year-old property into a hotel , with the entire heating , plumbing , cooling and hot water systems removed and replaced with the new natural energy system .
The revolutionary system uses natural energy that is harvested on site , with an underground river that flows 50 metres below the hotel acting as an energy reserve for cooling and heating the hotel without burning fuel .
Owner Brian McGill set the target to create the lowest carbon footprint possible for the Iveagh Garden when compared to any hotel in Europe despite the age of the building .
Despite the high cost of the system McGill said : “ You cannot put a value on nature , it ’ s the most important asset we have , and I want to use it .”
The four-star hotel ’ s restaurant is headed up by chef Darren O ’ Brien , and has a focus on Irish produce .
The Iveagh Garden is the latest property in the McGill portfolio which already includes the Harcourt Hotel , Harrington Hall and the Black Door cocktail and piano lounge on Harcourt Street .
8 www . hotelowner . co . uk March 2018