UK-based hospitality company Whitbread says it has strengthened Premier Inn’s status “as the leading budget brand” by implementing a thorough commercial action plan to drive its RevPAR forward through a volume-led strategy.

Published: 03 May 2010

UK-based hospitality company Whitbread says it has strengthened Premier Inn’s status “as the leading budget brand” by implementing a thorough commercial action plan to drive its RevPAR forward through a volume-led strategy.

This included investing in sales and marketing, widening of its distribution channels and launching Premier Offers in June 2009. The new website, www.premierinn.com, also went live in November and has increased visits by 80 percent, claimed the group. The site now attracts over three million visits per month.

Revenues

In its results for the financial year to 4 March 2010, Whitbread mentioned that group revenue grew year on year by 7.5 percent to £1,435.0 million, driven by the growth in the number of hotels, restaurants and coffee shops despite a modest decline in like for like sales of 0.5 percent.

Total sales at Premier Inn are up 4.7 percent to £629.8 million (2008/9: £601.5 million) with like for like sales down by 4.3 percent. Regional RevPAR was down 6.4 percent against a decline of 9.6 percent for the total regional hotel market, shared the group.

According to the group, Premier Inn outperformed its competitors during 2009/10. Regional RevPAR was down 6.4 percent during the year, compared to a decline of 8.5 percent in the regional budget hotel sector and a decline of 9.6 percent across the whole regional hotel market.

“We set out a commercial action plan to reinforce our status as the preferred hotel brand for corporate travellers and aggressively target leisure customers. We are pleased to report good progress on all fronts,” stated the company.

The group shared that in 2009/10, it set out a commercial action plan for Hotels and Restaurants, to build on its competitive edge for the business market and aggressively target leisure customers.

“We put in place four key levers: focused advertising, increased sales activity, Premier Offers and widening reservation distribution. This work will continue during the course of 2010/11 as we make an additional £8 million marketing investment and realise the full benefits of dynamic pricing,” stated the company.

As per Whitbread’s short and medium term growth plans, Premier Inn is to increase room numbers in 2010/11 by over 2,500 rooms (+6 percent) and target a 32 percent increase to 55,000 rooms in the UK by the end of 2014/15, as well as international expansion.