Hotel Owner May 2018 | Page 11

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MONTH IN REVIEW

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NOVELTY

Queen Elizabeth 2 relaunches as floating hotel

Historic cruise liner Queen Elizabeth 2 has re-launched as a floating hotel in Dubai , and is now officially open for guests .

The ship is owned by PCFC Hotels , who said they are promising “ a unique experience capturing all that was grand about her 40 years of service ”.

The hotel features cabins converted into hotel rooms and suites , 13 restaurants , an English pub , a ballroom and an exhibition area .

A company spokesman said 224 of the 800 rooms were ready for business , with the remainder expected to be completed by October .

Hamza Mustafa , CEO PCFC Hotels , said the ship was coming “ back to life ”.

He added : “ We have restored the QE2 to her former glory - we ’ ve meticulously brought her back to her original 1969 build .

“ When you walk in you get a sense of nostalgia - this is what the ship was famous for and this is exactly what we ’ re celebrating , glorifying her heyday .”

STAT OF THE MONTH

38.9 million

That ’ s how many overseas visitors stayed in the UK in 2017

REVENUE

AccorHotels posts strong revenue growth in Q1

AccorHotels has posted strong revenue growth for the first quarter of the year with a 9.7 % like-for-like increase to £ 551m .

The increase is attributed to the company ’ s acquisitions of Resdiary , Mantis and Gekko in the past year .

AccorHotels ’ HotelServices , which operates 4,304 hotels and offers 619,058 rooms , reported a 7.7 % like-for-like increase in revenue to £ 464m .

The group ’ s RevPAR grew by 5.3 %, with good performances notably in Europe ( 4.6 %) and Asia-Pacific ( 5.3 %). Demand accounted for 61 % of the increase , and average prices for 39 %.

Revenue at its recently expanding business division rose to £ 27m , up from £ 11.3m the previous year , an 14.5 % likefor-like increase .

During the first quarter , AccorHotels opened 61 new hotels , representing nearly 10,000 rooms . At the end of March 2018 , the group ’ s pipeline comprised of 870 hotels and 153,000 rooms .

Sébastien Bazin , chairman and chief executive officer of AccorHotels , said : “ In line with the good trends of 2017 , business remained strong in the first quarter in the vast majority of regions . Europe and Asia , our two key markets , continue to benefit from a buoyant environment . Our development continues at a sustained pace . At the same time , our new businesses are taking shape and gradually gaining momentum .”

INBOUND TOURISM

Overseas visitor numbers hit record 38.9 million in 2017

Overseas visitor numbers grew for the eighth consecutive year in 2017 setting a new annual record at 38.9 million people , according to the Hotel Report 2018 .

The report conducted by accountancy firm BDO , also found that daily room rates in the UK grew by 3.4 % to £ 100.58 , setting a new record and passing the £ 100 mark for the first time .

Additionally it revealed that London ’ s hotel segments experienced rooms yield growth in 2017 with the only exceptions being deluxe and superior deluxe hotels , whose declines in occupancy could not be overcome by the modest AARR performance seen in those segments .

The regional market saw a more consistent performance with all segments experiencing positive results . Country house hotels experienced the highest growth with rooms yield up by 3.6 %, followed by £ 60-70 hotels , which saw rooms yield up by 3.3 % as the UK benefits from the rise in popularity of the ‘ staycation ’.

There are currently over 21,700 rooms in the UK ’ s active hotel pipeline expected to open during 2018 and 2019 , according to the report , with the volume of UK hotel transactions in 2017 also up approximately 44 % compared to 2016 .

This constituted 25 % of total European single asset transactions and placed the UK at the top of the European rankings , followed by Spain and the Netherlands .

According to real estate advisor Savills , investment in the UK hotel market reached £ 5.4bn across 219 deals , 60 % of the transactions by value were individual sales , representing £ 3.2bn of the total .

May 2018 www . hotelowner . co . uk 11