Quiet summer at Hilton

Hilton and Stakis hotels in the UK had a quieter summer than normal, the group said today.

As a result, revenue per available room was down during the three months to 30 September 1999.

But the trend has now reversed, with October revenues better than last year, Hilton said in a trading update. Early November saw further improvement.

The process of integrating Stakis, acquired in March this year, had led to some short-term disruption to operations, the group reported, and revenues were still being affected by a number of large renovation projects, particularly in London.

Overall profits at Hilton International (excluding Stakis) showed a small improvement compared with the same period last year. Worldwide occupancy and achieved room rates both rose, resulting in a 2.5% increase in revenue per available room.

Revenues on the Continent, in the Middle East and Africa grew strongly while in the Americas they remained flat. Asia improved, although trading conditions in Japan remained difficult.