Savoy Group ‘upbeat' over recovery plans

It will be next year before the Savoy Group's revenue per available room (revpar) and occupancy rates are back to where they were before 11 September, the company's new executive vice-president has predicted.

Former sales and marketing director Geraldine McKenna, 46, was appointed to the position on 1 April, and is the group's first female to hold the job.

Like many London hotels, the Savoy Group has slashed its rates by around 15% since 11 September in an effort to boost occupancy levels.

As a result, the group is forecasting occupancy levels of 84% this year. Occupancy levels during March were running at around 73%, still 10% down on last year, said McKenna.

She added: "We really are very optimistic. Overall, we are very upbeat. We have had a good start to the quarter."

Revpar rates for April and May are forecast to be above those for the same period last year. This would be the first time since 11 September that monthly revpar rates had shown a year-on-year increase, she added.

"The North American market is coming back and that is our major market.

"What I really want to achieve is to continue to create value for our guests as well as our owners," she said.

Savoy, which is owned by Blackstone Group, has been without a chief executive since the departure of Ramón Pajares in October 1999.

McKenna joined Savoy in 1996, and was with Inter-Continental hotels, now part of Six Continents, before that.

by Nic Paton