PPHE has seen revenues rise by 11.9% to £77m in Q1, with sales driven by a growth in occupancy as room rates continued to normalise across both leisure, corporate and meetings and events.
Over the period, demand in the UK and the Netherlands was “solid”, while trading in Germany was “encouraging” as recovery continued. Trading in Croatia also showed positive early signs into the peak summer period.
RevPAR in Q1 was £98.1, rising 1.9% to £96.2 against the prior year, while like-for-like RevPAR rose by 3.3% to £99.4, up from £96.2.
The group saw a continued strengthening in occupancy levels, with like-for-like occupancy now 71.3%, up from 66.9% the prior year.
Average room rates fell from £143.7 to £139.3, with room-rate normalising “as anticipated”.
The first quarter saw the “highly anticipated” soft opening of the new 357-room art’otel, London Hoxton. According to the group, customer interest in the hotel has been strong, and booking activity is “expected to ramp up” over the coming months as a managed phased opening occurs.
The group said there are also further opportunities within its longer-term pipeline, including at its Park Plaza hotel in London Victoria, where it has secured planning permission for a 179-room subterranean property. It added that planning processes are in place across a number of other sites both in London and overseas.
Boris Ivesha, president and CEO, PPHE Hotel Group, said: “We are pleased with our progress over the first three months of our new financial year in what is always a quieter period. We have achieved further growth in our top-line performance and RevPAR, as we continue to see increasing occupancy.
“The progress with our £300+ million development pipeline continues at pace, and the soft opening of our new art’otel London Hoxton was a momentous occasion for the Group. Our accretive pipeline nearing completion affords us confidence as we move through the year and into the busy summer season.”
He added: “While still early in the year, leisure trends remain supportive and interest in our brands and assets in key European capital cities continues to support our confidence in our future prospects.”