Omicron fears and restrictions hit holiday trade for Premier Inn

Omicron fears and restrictions hit holiday trade for Premier Inn

The owners of the Premier Inn chain of hotels saw sales fall over the Christmas holidays due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

Whitbread group reported a UK sales drop of 4.4% compared with 2019 and a 17.2% slump in food and drink revenues due to fears over the variant and restrictions on eating out in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The company said it was too early to tell the impact of the Omicron hit to trade over the full year, with January and February traditionally the quietest months for the group.

Whilst our hotel performance was excellent, the value pub and restaurant sector in which we operate remains more challenging,” said chief executive Alison Brittain.

The group, which also revealed it had delayed about £20 million of investment and marketing spend this year due to supply chain and trading challenges, still hopes Premier Inn trading will recover to pre-Covid levels this year.

Alison Brittain added: UK accommodation sales remained resilient in December, albeit softening as we moved through the month and into the festive period as a result of the onset of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

“Whilst our hotel performance was excellent, the value pub and restaurant sector in which we operate remains more challenging.”

Figures also released for the third quarter to November 25 showed more resilient trading before Omicron struck, with total like-for-like UK sales down 1% while accommodation sales rose 5.5%, with food and drink sales down 13.4%.