War fears hit De Vere's conference trade
The hotels group De Vere reported a drop in demand for its midweek conferencing business yesterday and said trading remained difficult to predict amid a drop in consumer spending and fears of war.
The group, which owns the Belfry, the Ryder Cup venue, and Brighton's Grand Hotel, said like-for-like revenues per available room, a key industry measure, rose 0.3 per cent at its 21 De Vere hotels in the first four months of its fiscal year, down from a 3.7 per cent rise in the first eight weeks. "Worries over a conflict in Iraq are creating uncertainty amongst many conference buyers," De Vere said at its annual meeting.
Hotel groups across the world are suffering from a drop in corporate business because of the economic downturn and a decline in tourism amid fears of a war against Iraq.
De Vere managed to dodge some of the downturn in the year ended 29 September, thanks to its provincial focus and solid demand for its leisure break holidays. The group has only one property in London, the Cavendish on Jermyn Street.
De Vere said sales of short-break holidays remained buoyant and that trading at its 14 mid-market Village Hotels remained in line with the level reported for the last financial year. Like-for-like revenues per available room were up 3.3 per cent at Village Hotels in the first four months. Its shares fell 4.75p to 275.25p yesterday.
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