Motel One to push ahead with expansion plans despite £88m loss
The company added that although reserves are ‘melting away’, Motel One is still ‘well positioned’ with high liquidity reserves and a strong equity base
Hotel group Motel One has revealed it is to push ahead with expansion plans despite seeing 2020 sales decrease by 63% resulting in a loss of €102m (£88m).
It comes as it saw occupancy figures for the year close at 28%, down from 77% due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company added that although reserves are “melting away”, Motel One is still “well positioned” with high liquidity reserves and a strong equity base.
As such it confirmed it is “pressing ahead” with its “ambitious expansion plans” that will see a total of six hotels with 2,300 rooms completed in 2021, with a further 21 still in development for upcoming years.
The group said Motel One Manchester-St. Peter’s Square is set to open in the Autumn and will be the third property for the brand in the city.
The other openings for the year include Motel One Cologne-Messe, Motel One Nuremberg-Hauptbahnhof, Motel One Hamburg-Fleetinsel, Motel One Stuttgart-Hauptbahnhof and Motel One Aachen.
Overall a total of 27 hotels with 7,986 rooms are in development currently with six developed for the group’s own portfolio and 21 with external investors.
Motel One said: “The group continues to anticipate disruption in business in the coming months, which cannot yet be quantified, but Motel One are not allowing the pandemic to distort their view of long-term trends.
“Trends may see a continued hybrid working world in the post-coronavirus era, with the pandemic consolidating the trend towards, working from home and video conferencing. Whilst the demand for business trips could decrease, the greater flexibility that home offices bring for remote workers could help close this gap.”
