Delivering on our growth strategy with at least 20% portfolio growth in 2022
Dalata Hotel Group Plc (“Dalata” or “the Group” or “the Company”), the largest hotel operator in Ireland, with a growing presence in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, is holding its AGM today at 11:30 am BST at Clayton Hotel Cardiff Lane, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2. Shareholders are welcome to attend the meeting in person or participate in the AGM electronically using the link below.
At the AGM, John Hennessy, Chairman of Dalata, will make the following statement: “2021 was another challenging year for Dalata and the wider hospitality industry. However, I am pleased to say that we have moved firmly into recovery with strong trading post re-opening across all markets. The focus on our people has always been central in how we operate at Dalata and the actions taken throughout the pandemic to maintain and continue to develop our core teams have been key factors in our ability to recover.
To date, trade in 2022 has surpassed our expectations. We announced in March that RevPAR1 for the Group was approaching pre-pandemic levels and I am delighted to report that it is expected to be 109% of 2019 levels for the March/April period. RevPAR1 in April will exceed 2019 levels in each of our Dublin, Regional Ireland and UK regions. As we look ahead, we are optimistic for the summer months given increased flight capacities and a strong events calendar but remain cautious about the impact of inflation. A number of hotel rooms in Dublin and Regional Ireland are also currently being utilised for other purposes, including to accommodate refugees, notably those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
We continue to proactively manage the business in response to the ongoing inflationary pressures. Our decentralised model supported by our Central teams, our dynamic pricing strategies and our culture of cost discipline are helping us respond to the cost increases we are seeing particularly in the areas of labour, energy and food.
We continue to deliver on our growth plan and by the end of this year we will increase the number of rooms in operation by at least 20%, compared to the end of 2021. To date, we have successfully opened four new hotels and secured our first hotel in continental Europe with Hotel Nikko, Düsseldorf. The Group’s two new hotels in Manchester city centre, which opened in January and February, are performing ahead of our expectations. We opened our first hotel in Bristol last month and today is a doubly significant date, in that while we discuss our ambitious growth plans at our AGM, we also officially open The Samuel Hotel in Dublin. The Clayton Hotel Glasgow City and Maldron Hotel Merrion Road in Dublin are expected to open in the coming months.
Our ability to open new hotels and meet the rising demand at our existing hotels would not have been possible without the continued hard work of all our teams across the business. We remain steadfast in our focus on what supports and sustains shareholder value. This includes attracting, retaining and developing our outstanding team, enhancing our culture, growing our portfolio and continuing to develop a range of environmental, social and governance initiatives, building on our already strong foundations. These initiatives are aligned with shareholder and other stakeholder interests and will measurably reduce our environmental impact as well as enhancing our positive social impact. We are confident in our ability to respond to the changing needs of our customers and secure further opportunities as we position Dalata for sustainable growth”.
