EDITOR’S LETTER
A mighty windfall
CONTRIBUTORS
As the press was warming up for this issue of the
STEPHEN W. AYERS
magazine, news broke that the owner of Premier
Stephen is a British and
Canadian author and former
hotel manager. He is the CEO
of Stay Ahead Hospitality,
a company that helps
independent hoteliers in
Europe and North America
to attain high standards and
increase profit
Inn, Whitbread, had sold Costa Coffee to Coca-Cola
for £3.9bn. Whitbread acquired the brand in 1995 for
£19m when it had just 39 outlets, and had intended
to spin off the chain as a separate business, but
the transaction was “unanimously agreed” by
the Whitbread board to be in the “best interests
of shareholders”. Given that a “significant majority” of the net cash
DEBORAH HEATHER
Deborah is the director
of Quality in Tourism;
providers of independent
quality assessments and
gradings. Deborah manages
an extensive field force of
assessors who each grade
some 300 properties a year.
proceeds of the deal will be returned to those shareholders – pushing
the share price up 16% in a single day – I don’t doubt that unanimity.
But what does it mean for the hotel industry? On the face of
it, it means a rationalisation of Whitbread’s business. A budget
hotel brand and a high street coffee chain were arguably unlikely
bedfellows, and a statement announcing the deal would suggest
execs there felt the same: the sale will allow for a greater
concentration on “attractive structural growth opportunities for its
PETER HANCOCK
Peter has been the
chief executive of Pride
of Britain Hotels - a
collection of never more
than 50 luxury and
independent properties -
since 2000. He previously
managed hotels and
restaurants in Sussex and
Hampshire, having started
out as a waiter
ANGIE PETKOVIC
Angie started as our
resident marketing advice
columnist and has now
built a substantial following
for her straight-talking
answers to the common
questions about executing
a professional marketing
strategy
leading hotel business, Premier Inn, in the UK and Germany”, it read.
Whilst the word ‘hospitality’ goes some way to bridging the worlds of
retail and hotels, ditching the bedevilled high street and establishing
a laser-focus on hotels in a highly competitive market as it continues
to boom is probably very wise.
The other major consideration for Premier Inn’s competitors is that
while the cash going to shareholders may be a significant majority, it is
undisclosed exactly what proportion it might be. If it is, say, 60%, what’s
left over potentially for Premier Inn to benefit from could be a 10-figure
windfall of investment in technology and marketing, or new openings,
or debt reduction, or share buybacks. Their Costa investment has
paid huge dividends, literally, and shows an ability to think in the long
term. If I were CEO of a major hotel chain in the UK, I would be watching
Whitbread very carefully.
Michael Northcott
SEPTEMBER 2018
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WATERBORNE
Legionnaires’ disease has struck again, killing a hotel guest
in Ludlow and eventually forcing The Feathers Hotel into administration.
We asked the experts how hoteliers can combat the risk of the
deadly bacteria springing up in their water systems
September 2018
ON THE COVER
Illustration
commissioned
by Hotel Owner
and produced by
Russ Tudor.
WHILST THE WORD ‘HOSPITALITY’ GOES
SOME WAY TO BRIDGING THE WORLDS
OF RETAIL AND HOTELS, DITCHING
THE BEDEVILLED HIGH STREET AND
ESTABLISHING A LASER-FOCUS ON
HOTELS IN A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE
MARKET AS IT CONTINUES TO BOOM IS
PROBABLY VERY WISE
‘‘
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