Source/Contact: e-tid, 25/02/2009TRI

TRI Hospitality Consulting reports 2009 got off to a bad start for UK hotels, with profitability plunging 25.8% year-on-year in January.  Daily income before fixed charges (IBFC) or gross operating profit per available room came to just £21.78 last month, versus £29.35 in January 2008.  Occupancy declined by 4.2 percentage points to 59.2%, while average room rates dropped 7% to £82.60, resulting in a 13.1% fall in revenue per available room (revPAR) to £48.89.