MONTH IN REVIEW
GO ONLINE
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At a time when the UK
is showing some signs
of slow improvement ,
the government needs to
take action to support
these businesses
Kate Nicholls, CEO, UKHospitality
OTAS
Weak growth for
UK hotels linked
with ‘unfair
advantage’ for
OTAs
RevPAR for the European hotel industry
decreased by 0.8% in May 2018, despite
the positive 5.2% increase seen in April.
Whilst the UK experienced weak
growth in RevPAR (+0.4%) thanks to
an occupancy rate up 1.5 points, other
European countries such as Portugal,
Hungary and Greece posted notable
increases in comparison.
The new data from UKHospitality
comes in the wake of a recent report by
the Competition and Market Authority’s
(CMA) on online bookings, highlighting
a number of concerns relating to
search rankings, discount claims and
hidden charges.
UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls
said: “The findings highlighted by
the CMA brought unfair practices
of digital businesses to the forefront
of the conversation – practices that
have been providing an unmerited
advantage against highly regulated
operators whose first concern is to
deliver good service to their customers.
“At a time when the UK is showing
some signs of slow improvement, the
government needs to take action to
support these businesses. In order to
sustain and grow the hotel industry, it’s
vital that online booking sites operate
with transparency, providing customers
with confidence in their decision and a
boost for hoteliers.”
September 2018
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BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Business
barometer
growth remains
steady and
confidence
continues to
be low, says
UKinbound
UKinbound has released its latest
tourism ‘Business Barometer’ results,
based on members’ feedback regarding
hotel business performance in May/
June 2018.
Some 72% stated that bookings/
visitor numbers/customer orders were
the same or higher compared to the
same period last year.
For those that were higher, orders
had increased by an average of 27%.
In addition, 82% had seen yield stay
roughly the same or increase compared
to 2017 figures.
It also found that business
confidence regarding the impending 12
months remained low at 47%, slightly
up on March/April figures. However,
confidence has steadily declined since
September/October 2017, when it stood
at 60%.
UKinbound chief executive officer,
Deirdre Wells, said: “It’s unfortunate
but not surprising that confidence
in our industry remains low. The
implications of Brexit and resulting
uncertainty continues to cause
challenges for our members.”
STAT OF THE MONTH
£1.1bn
That’s the amount that has
been invested in London hotels
during the first half of 2018
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HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Feathers
Hotel enters
administration
after
Legionnaires’
outbreak
The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow has
entered into administration following
trading difficulties as the result of a
Legionnaires’ outbreak in 2017.
Raj Mittal and Steve Stokes, partners
at specialist business advisory firm FRP
Advisory LLP, have been appointed as
joint administrators. The hotel, which
employs 30 people, will remain open
for business while options for its future
are assessed.
A woman died and another fell ill
following an outbreak of Legionnaires’
disease at the property, and the hotel
closed temporarily after taking advice
from Public Health England (PHE) in
the West Midlands and Shropshire
Council. Laboratory tests from the hotel
showed links between the legionella
bacteria found in the water samples
and the two guests who stayed there.
Joint administrator Raj Mittal said:
“The Feathers Hotel worked closely
with Public Health England (PHE) in
the West Midlands and Shropshire
to enable a staged reopening of the
business. Unfortunately, the impact of
the initial closure and restricted trading
conditions resulted in severe cash flow
difficulties, which led to the company
entering administration.
“We’re now working closely with
the directors to evaluate all routes
forward for the business over the
coming weeks.”
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