PPHE Hotel Group suffers drop in average room rate
A softer London hotel market has been highlighted in the first quarter trading update from PPHE Hotel Group, with the announcement of a 2.8% drop in average room rate to £108.90 for the three months to 31 March 2018.
The previous year benefitted from an increase in overseas visitors due to the fall in the value of sterling. Like-for-like average room rate decreased by 2% to £109.80.
However, total revenue for the group, which owns and operates the Park Plaza and Art'otel brands, increased by 2.9% to £59.4m (the like-for-like figure was up 1.5% to £57.7m).
Occupancy grew from 71% to 73.5%, while total revenue per available room (revpar) climbed by 0.6% to £80.10 (like-for-like revpar rose by 1.4% to £80.70).
Key activities during the period include the acquisition from the Reuben brothers of a 50% interest in the development site of Art'otel London Hoxton for £35m, with building work expected to start soon. It will be the second Art'otel for London, alongside a 160-bedroom property which is currently being developed at Battersea Power Station and will open next year.
Boris Ivesha, president and chief executive, PPHE Hotel Group said: "We are pleased to report a solid performance during the first quarter, especially considering the strong prior year performance when we reported double digit revenue growth.
"Revenue increased across all operating regions, with the exception of the Netherlands, which as expected was negatively impacted due to renovations at Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam."
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