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1. British Staycations Boost Premier Inn Performance
British hotel firm Whitbread PLC, which owns the United Kingdom’s largest hotel brand by asset count, Premier Inn, said the continuation of the British staycation trend bodes well for the rest of 2022, as it announced in its first quarter 2022 results that it is already 40% booked for the next quarter running through the summer.
In year-over-year terms, the company’s hotels have earned revenue 31% ahead of pre-pandemic figures across its entire European portfolio and 21.3% ahead of pre-pandemic numbers in the U.K. CEO Alison Brittain said, “this impressive [first quarter] performance, together with improved visibility into [the second quarter], gives us increased confidence in delivering a strong first half and remaining ahead of the market for the rest of the year.”
2. Americans, Brits More Likely to Fly Following Lifting of US Restrictions
Following the ending of pre-flight COVID-19 travel testing the U.S., travelers in both the U.S. and U.K. said they are now more willing to travel to or from the US, according to Forbes.
A survey by MMGY Travel Intelligence revealed 52% of Brits are more likely to travel to the U.S. within the next six months, while 36% of Americans said they are now more likely to leave the U.S. Forty-four percent of Americans said the news would not change their already-made decision to leave the U.S. for vacations or business travel, but 59% said the increased cost of travel might make them pause.
3. Hoteliers Cautioned Against Getting Too Comfortable
U.S. hoteliers run the risk of becoming too comfortable with the uptick in performance metrics amid mounting geopolitical and global economic issues, Hotel News Now’s Dana Miller reports from the NYU International Hospitality Investment Conference.
Heather McCrory, CEO for North and Central America at Accor, said “there's push and pull within the industry, and leaders face four key factors — the economy, labor, guest expectation and putting environmental, social, and governance initiatives in place.”
4. England Says 200,000 Coastal Properties Might Have To Be Abandoned by 2050
Government scientists in England have warned that up to 200,000 properties, possibly including some hotels, might have to be abandoned by 2050 due to rising sea levels, according to the BBC, with a report from Ocean & Coastal Management stating one-third of the English coast is deemed to be under threat if predictions come true that there will be a two-degree Celsius (+3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) rise in the global temperature.
The report marks the first time there has been a systematic review of a threat related to the cost and common sense of putting into place renewed sea defenses, or not. New science has therefore added a further 160,000 properties at risk to the 35,000 properties previously identified as threatened.
5. Rosewood Takes Over Management of Venice’s Famous Bauer Hotel
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will take over management of Venice’s famed Bauer Hotel when it reopens in 2025, it has been announced by the building’s owner Signa Prime Selection. The hotel, on the corner of the Grand and San Moise canals, was opened in 1880, and it has kept the name Bauer Hotel for more than 140 years.
Now to be called the Rosewood Hotel Bauer, the hotel will have approximately 110 keys, half of which will be suites. Heinz Peter Hager, Signa’s president, is upbeat about the impact the hotel will have, stating “this modern ultra-luxury hotel, in combination with first-class restaurants and an impressive rooftop garden, is set to become Venice’s new center of attraction.”