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Whitbread today dismissed talk that the economy is recovering as it unveiled a slump in sales at its budget hotel chain Premier Inn.
The group's chief executive Alan Parker claims that Premier is growing market share in the midst of a dreadful period for the industry.
Like-for-like sales slumped 7.7% in the 24 weeks to 13 August, as business travellers and holidaymakers cut back.
“We have yet to see any substantive signs of improvement in the economic environment,” said Parker. “This recession has been the worst ever in my experience.”
In an effort to cut costs, Whitbread has imposed a freeze on staff pay and is delaying fresh recruitment.
One bright spot was the company's coffee business, Costa, which continues to grow despite the economic strife.
Sales are up 18.4% thanks to the opening of 88 new stores this year. Sales at established Costa outlets have risen 2.7%.
Whitbread is bullish enough about its own performance to say that it expects profits for the full year to be “at least at the higher end of current market expectations”.
Whitbead has also moved to bolster its board, unveiling the appointment of former Boots chief executive Richard Baker as a non executive director.
He replaces the outgoing Charles Gurassa.
Baker agreed the sale of Boots to the Italian billionaire businessman Stefano Pessina last year.
Reader views (2)
I have just been trying to book two nights at a Premier Inn hotel. After several phone calls, with calls being cut or wrongly transferred I was eventally told that their system was down and I should try calling tomorrow. There seemed little effort to try and secure me as a customer, even when I spoke to the hotel directly rather than their call centre.
- Timothy Lowe, Ruislip, London, 07/09/2009 21:15
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I have used premier inns in the past to accommodate my staff, I would typically require anything from 6 to 12 rooms for one or two nights so I book sometime in advance. PI give no discounts for group bookings and require payment in advance and to top it all at one premier inn the price went up because of a local concert 12 miles away, a concert at which my staff were working. Prehaps if they were more accommodating people would use them more. guess what I have stopped using them.
- Mark, Diss, 07/09/2009 15:21
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