Report by Juliet Dennis
THISTLE Hotels has released a healthy set of figures
for 2000 but has warned the foot-and-mouth outbreak and an uncertain economic
climate may threaten this year’s market.
The four-star hotel chain – the largest in London –
reported a 12% increase in underlying 2000 pre-tax profits.
But chief executive officer Ian Burke said Thistle
would be cautiously monitoring the impact of the recent crisis and slowdown of
the US economy during 2001, despite the fact revpar – revenue per available
room – and turnover for the first eight weeks of this year are up on last year
by more than 10%.
“This is encouraging,
although the somewhat uncertain economic outlook worldwide may have some effect
on the UK hotel market,” he said.