Premier Inn owner Whitbread has reported flat sales growth in the UK as well as “continued momentum” in Germany.

The company said that total UK accommodation sales of £532.7 million were “in line with last year” in its third quarter, which ran up to 28 November 2024. Whitbread insisted that it was continuing to “outperform the midscale and economy” in the UK despite the lack of growth.

This contrasted with a 23.1 per cent year-on-year rise in hotel sales in Germany, which increased to €69.3 million during the quarter. Whitbread said this performance meant it was on track to become profitable in the destination during its next financial year.

Whitbread added that accommodation sales in the six weeks up to 9 January had seen growth of 2 per cent in the UK and a rise of 37 per cent in Germany compared with the same period last year.

Dominic Paul, Whitbread’s CEO, stressed that the company was making “good progress against our strategic priorities” as part of its current growth plan.

“The structural shift in UK supply has meant that Premier Inn is continuing to sustain the significant gains made since the pandemic,” added Paul. “Whilst forward visibility remains limited, the favourable supply backdrop, together with our brand strength and commercial initiatives, means we are confident that we can continue to outperform the market.

“In Germany, we continued to perform strongly in what is an important trading period. As a result, we remain on track to reach profitability on a run-rate basis this year which is a key milestone and gives us real confidence as we continue to build momentum towards becoming the country’s number one hotel brand.”

During Q3, Premier Inn saw its occupancy in the key London market drop by 3.2 percentage points year-on-year to 83.1 per cent, while average room rate fell by 2.9 per cent to £112.47 over the same period.

In the UK regions, the budget chain’s occupancy fell less sharply – by 0.8 points to 83.9 per cent, while average rate was down 0.9 per cent to £74.43.

Premier Inn’s German portfolio of hotels saw occupancy climb by 7.7 points year-on-year to reach 73.5 per cent during the quarter, with average room rate up by 7 per cent to €96.89.