'Fantastic' trading reported by boss of UK hotel chain which has premises in Cleethorpes and Grimsby

 

Always busy - the Premier Inn in Cleethorpes

AN upbeat note on trading has been sounded by Dominic Paul, chief executive of Whitbread whose portfolio of 840 UK Premier Inns includes the ones in Cleethorpes and Grimsby.

In a statement this week, he said the latest figures were "fantastic", with profits significantly higher than they were before the pandemic.

Both local Premier Inns are always busy, and their market position  has been strengthened here, as elsewhere, by shrinkage in the independent sector.

Up to 12 guest houses in our area have closed over the past couple of years, with the decline set to continue.

In Cleethorpes, there is adjacent land on which to expand, but the company is monitoring local economic conditions before taking the plunge.

It might be less inclined to invest if a proposed holiday lodge development at the nearby former Pleasure Island site gluts the market for short-term accommodation.

UK-wide, Premier has more than 83,500 rooms and employs more than  40,000 staff.

It is seeking to expand further not just here but also in German where it currently has 18 hotels.