Premier support for tourism
IT MIGHT seem surprising to some that significant players in Guernsey’s tourism sector, those running mid-range, reasonably-priced accommodation, with aspirations to better themselves, would welcome the arrival to the island of the highly successful Premier Inn chain.
Premier Inn is one of the success stories of the travel trade. Although it’s still in recovery post-Covid, after two years of seriously disrupted trading, revenues for the first half of 2021 were £661m. Profits recorded in the last trading year pre-pandemic came in at £235m.
Inspired by the success of its first venture into Jersey, it looked to consolidate with a second hotel in Jersey and the Guernsey build at Admiral Park. First visitors checked in this week, and would no doubt have been expecting the same standard of service and facility that Premier Inn offers at every one of its hotels. It is its calling card – it’s one of the reasons why people return again and again.
On the announcement of its Guernsey operation, the group said it would ‘bring a different type of accommodation to Guernsey, diversifying the accommodation offer for business and leisure guests’.
And it also said the ‘strong brand’ and ‘established marketing channels’ would ‘help to promote the island to existing Premier Inn customers who may not immediately think to visit’.
It’s a demonstration of the same type of thinking that sees many welcome the advent of low-cost air carriers into Guernsey – that it would be another way for the island to get on to people’s personal world destination maps, via a drop-down menu.
Of course incumbent airlines don’t always welcome competition, and hence some surprise at the response of hoteliers already open and keen to fill beds themselves. There is no indication that local hotels are already thriving post-pandemic, demanding the need for another 100 bedrooms to come on stream. And available they now are – although it is said that the hotel may be pretty full as early as this weekend.
We must hope that this vote of confidence in Guernsey tourism – and first new-build hotel to open since the 1980s – is able to herald a better time for a sector whose success is in everyone’s interest.