Holiday Inn owner IHG sees signs of recovery following pickup in demand May 7, 2021 Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) said it has seen a “notable” pickup in demand in the first quarter led by a flurry of bookings in America and China. IHG, whose brands also include the Crowne Plaza, Regent and Hualuxe hotel chains said it outperformed the wider hotel industry in key markets following a [...]
Travelodge to open 17 new hotels in 2021, creating 360 jobs May 4, 2021 Travelodge this morning announced that it will open 17 new hotels this year, creating 360 new jobs across its network. The new hotels mean that the firm will have a total of 597 venues across the UK, Ireland, and Spain. Two of the new hotels will be in London, with the rest spread around the [...]
Coronavirus: Cineworld in legal battle over unpaid lockdown rent August 17, 2020 Cineworld is said to be facing a legal challenge from one of its landlords after the cinema chain failed to pay rent during the coronavirus lockdown. The London-listed cinema group is understood to be withholding rent from property giant AEW after it was hit by closures due to the Covid-19 crisis. AEW has now filed [...]
Landlords desert Travelodge to set up rival operator July 24, 2020 Dozens of Travelodge landlords are set to ditch the budget hotel chain to set up a rival company, following an acrimonious battle with the firm over rent cuts during the pandemic. Around 80 hotels will desert Travelodge to sign new leases with Goodnight, a new brand set to be formally announced later today. The Goodnight [...]
Premier Inn owner scoops up almost £1bn to bolster against pandemic June 10, 2020 Whitbread investors have agreed to supply more than 90 per cent of its £1bn cash call, the Premier Inn owner announced today, as it attempts to beef up its balance sheet amid the coronavirus crisis. Existing investors scooped up 91 per cent of the discounted 1-2 fundraiser issued by the hotel group in a bid [...]
McColl’s finance chief departs for Holland & Barrett May 6, 2020 The chief financial officer of McColl’s Retail Group will step down to join health food retailer Holland & Barrett, the convenience store chain announced this morning. McColl’s said Robbie Bell had resigned to take up the finance chief role at Holland & Barrett. The company has launched a search for a successor, saying Bell will [...]
London hotel market ‘set for strong post-coronavirus recovery’ April 15, 2020 London’s hotel market could make a complete recovery by the end of next year if coronavirus restrictions are lifted by the end of June, according to the latest research. Knight Frank research found that there could be a surge in UK investment volumes in the final months of 2020, and showed that the hotel market [...]
Coronavirus: Leading hotel chains in talks to provide rooms to NHS March 19, 2020 Some of the world’s largest hotel chains are in talks with the government about providing space for NHS workers as the UK battles the coronavirus outbreak. One group, Best Western Great Britain, is offering 15,000 hotel bedrooms and over 1,000 meeting rooms to help the NHS and local authorities. Intercontinental Hotel Group also said it [...]
Watchdog warns consumers over online travel agents March 3, 2020 Travellers can get a better deal by booking directly with hotels rather than through online travel agents, a consumer rights watchdog has found. The investigation found that eight out of 10 hotels were able to offer a better price or other incentives such as free breakfasts or upgrades when customers booked directly over the telephone. [...]
Intercontinental Hotels sales in Hong Kong drop on protests February 18, 2020 Intercontinental Hotels has reported a slight dip in revenue per room in 2019, with the Holiday Inn-owner hit by a fall in bookings in Hong Kong due to the unrest in the territory. The hotel group, which operates 443 hotels in Greater China under various brands, said comparable revenue per available room (revpar) dipped 0.3 [...]