Leased Hotels market blossoming according to JLL's Spring Bulletin

JLL has published its spring Leased Hotels Bulletin which shows that Q1 of 2018 saw a strong start for the Alternatives property sector and Leased Hotels in particular.

June 13, 2018

JLL has published its spring Leased Hotels Bulletin which shows that Q1 of 2018 saw a strong start for the Alternatives property sector and Leased Hotels in particular.

Commenting on JLL's findings, Richard Servidei, director in the firm's Alternatives team, said: "Securing over 28% of market share, Alternatives transactions topped £3.2 billion, with over £500m of this transacted within the leased hotel space." It is not only investment volumes that are grabbing the headlines at the start of 2018.  According to BDO's Hotel Britain 2018 report, the average daily rate in UK hotels exceeded the £100 mark with an increase of 3.4% year-on-year.  BDO attributed these increases to the weak pound encouraging UK tourism. They forecast that 21,700 rooms are expected to open throughout 2018 and 2019, with 38% of these being in London.

This positive news is reflected in Travelodge's recent announcement that that they are looking to open 12 hotels within Kent alone.  This expansion represents an investment of £60m, the creation of 300 jobs and will boost Travelodge's portfolio in Kent to 25 hotels over the next few years.  Furthermore, in 2018 it plans to open 20 hotels nationwide, including a flagship 395-bedroom hotel on Middlesex Street in the City of London.  Similarly, Whitbread is planning to add more than 30 hotels to its Premier Inn estate by February 2019 as part of its quest to reach 85,000 bedrooms over the next two years.  The expansion plans suggest that a new hotel will open every two weeks in the run up to this date, comprising 4,300 bedrooms across the UK.