Profit growth at hotels in the UK failed to match the soaring temperatures in April as the ongoing cost creep meant year-on-year growth in total revenue was completely wiped out and led to a -0.9% decline in GOPPAR, according to the latest worldwide poll of full-service hotels from HotStats.

Hotels in the UK recorded a 0.6% year-on-year increase in TrevPAR in April, which grew to £134.12, as the country basked in record temperatures, wiping out the memories of the endless winter.

However, the marginal revenue increase was not sufficient to offset the uplift in costs, which this month included a 0.4-percentage point increase in Payroll to 29.6% of total revenue, as well as a 0.1 percentage point increase in Overheads, which grew to 22.8% of total revenue.

As a result of the movement in revenue and costs, profit per room at hotels in the UK fell by -0.9% to £47.98. This represented a sixth consecutive month of year-on-year profit decline and contributed to the -3.7% decline in this measure for year-to-date 2018, to £39.31 per available room.

In addition to escalating costs, one of the key challenges to performance at hotels so far in 2018 has been volume levels, which appear to be on the slide.

This was illustrated by the 0.9-percentage point year-on-year drop in room occupancy this month, to 77.8%, which completely wiped out the 0.8% increase in achieved average room rate, to £112.56, and contributed to the 0.3% drop in RevPAR, to £87.59.

Profit & Loss Key Performance Indicators - Total UK (in GBP)

  • April 2018 v April 2017
  • RevPAR: -0.3% to £87.59
  • TrevPAR: +0.6% to £134.12
  • Payroll: + 0.4 pts to 29.6%
  • GOPPAR: -0.9% to £47.98

Despite recording increases in rate in the commercial sector, which included an uplift in the Conference (+12.6%) and Corporate (+0.1%) segments, hotels in the UK were let down by rate declines in the Leisure (-4.2%) and Group Tours (-1.6%) segments, which was somewhat surprising considering the warm weather.

"Demand levels have softened since the beginning of 2018, which may be attributed to the poor weather, the slowing in the UK economy and, this month, the timing of Easter.

But it's also clear that the increase in minimum wage and employer pension contributions have caused an increase in payroll levels. So, despite a rise in TrevPAR, payroll as a percentage of total revenue has grown and taken a bite out of profits," said Pablo Alonso, CEO of HotStats..

One city which bucked the national trend of profit decline in April was Brighton. However, in line with the performance of the UK overall, top line growth for hotels in the south coast city was driven by an increase in demand from the commercial segments, rather than leisure.

The growth in volume this month was led by demand generated in the city by the 2018 edition of the IATEFL Conference, which attracted more than 3,000 attendees from more than 100 countries.

The conference fuelled an increase in volume from the commercial segment, which increased to 39.4% of total demand for the month, which is well above the contribution from the Residential Conference and Corporate sectors in the rolling 12 months to April 2018, at 34.9% of roomnights sold.

Despite the overall decline in achieved average room rate this month, which fell by 1.6% to £107.03, the volume of attendees to the annual IATEFL event supported an uplift in segment rate in the Residential Conference (+5.2%) and Corporate (+7.0%) sectors.

RevPAR at hotels in Brighton increased by 3.6% in April to £87.57 and was driven by a 4.1-percentage point increase in room occupancy, to 81.8%.

The uplift in Rooms Revenue was supported by increases in Non-Rooms Departments, which contributed to the 2.5% increase in TrevPAR in April, to £133.78.

Profit & Loss Key Performance Indicators - Brighton (in GBP)

  • April 2018 v April 2017
  • RevPAR: +3.6% to £87.57
  • TrevPAR: +2.5% to £133.78
  • Payroll: +0.2 pts to 25.9%
  • GOPPAR: +6.7% to £53.03

Whilst hotels in Brighton suffered a 0.2-percentage point increase in Payroll, to 25.9% of total revenue, it was far outweighed by the growth in top-line performance, which contributed to the 6.7% year-on-year increase in profit per room in April, to £53.03.

"Although Brighton is traditionally a popular destination for leisure visitors, which has been boosted over the last 24 months by a Brexit-related uplift in domestic tourism, demand levels are also supported by the strong conference and convention offering, with significant capacity available at the Brighton Centre, as well as a number of the local hotels," added Pablo.

The profit growth this month continued the positive performance for hotels in Brighton so far in 2018 and contributed to the 8.8% increase in GOPPAR for year-to-date 2018, to £31.28. The growth this year will be a welcome respite after the 2.2% drop in this measure in 2017.

Hotels in Aberdeen have also seen a welcome recovery in performance since the beginning of the year, with GOPPAR growth recorded at +4.0% for the year-to-date 2018; although profit per room remains low at just £10.76.

As top line performance levels plummeted in recent years, it was essential that hotels in Aberdeen were able to trim the fat in order to survive. And with this operational mentality, hotels in the oil and gas capital of the UK were able to record a 34.0% year-on-year increase in GOPPAR this month, albeit to a lowly £12.74, on the back of a 10.5% increase in TrevPAR.

Profit & Loss Key Performance Indicators - Aberdeen (in GBP)

  • April 2018 v April 2017
  • RevPAR: +11.6% to £41.98
  • TrevPAR: +10.5% to £57.08
  • Payroll: -2.8 pts to 34.0%
  • GOPPAR: +34.0% to £12.74

Whilst the recovery in Rooms revenue at hotels in Aberdeen has primarily been in volume, this month an increase was recorded in both room occupancy (+6.3 percentage points), to 69.0%, and achieved average room rate (+1.5%), to £60.85, which fuelled the 3.3% increase in RevPAR, to £41.98.

The growth in RevPAR at hotels in Aberdeen this month was supplemented by encouraging increases in Non-Rooms Revenue, including Food & Beverage (+9.4%) and Conference & Banqueting (+36.8%) on a per available room basis.

The hotels profiled in this report are drawn from the HotStats database and reflect the portfolios and distribution of the hotel chains that we survey and which operate in the full-service sector.

Please note: The data samples are reviewed and rebased each year to reflect the changes in the HotStats survey base. As a result, performance ratios published last year may differ from those contained in this report.

Glossary:

  • Occupancy (%) - Is that proportion of the bedrooms available during the period which are occupied during the period.
  • Average Room Rate (ARR) - Is the total bedroom revenue for the period divided by the total bedrooms occupied during the period.
  • Room Revpar (RevPAR) - Is the total bedroom revenue for the period divided by the total available rooms during the period.
  • Total Revpar (TRevPAR) - Is the combined total of all revenues divided by the total available rooms during the period.
  • Payroll % - Is the payroll for all hotels in the sample as a percentage of total revenue.
  • GOP PAR - Is the Total Gross Operating Profit for the period divided by the total available rooms during the period.

About HotStats

HotStats provides monthly P&L benchmarking and market insight for the global hotel industry, collecting monthly detailed financial data from more than 8,500 hotels worldwide and over 100 different brands and independent hotels. HotStats provides more than 550 different KPIs covering all operating revenues, payroll, expenses, cost of sales and departmental and total hotel profitability.