HILTON Group has said the benefits of a recovery in the
hotel sector are unlikely to be appear before next year, despite
reporting a 72% rise in profits.
The UK-based group – which covers non-US Hilton properties and the
Ladbrokes gaming chain – reported a pre-tax profit of £189.7
million for the first six months 2004, up from £110.5 million
last year.
Group chief executive David Michels said: “It is encouraging to
report that hotels across most of our portfolio are now
experiencing improvements in both business and leisure traffic,
although it will not be before 2005 that rates react accordingly.”
Hotels turnover increased to £67.1 million, against £56.1
million for 2003.
Localised hotel division websites in the UK, Germany, Japan and
Scandinavia launched last year saw internet bookings soar 116%.