Alison Brittain

Premier Inn owner Whitbread has said it will pay millions in wage rises and bonuses to try to combat what it calls persistent staff shortages.

The Chain said hospitality-wide labour shortages meant a " material number of vacancies" remained unfilled.

Higher pay rates will cost Whitbread £12m-£13m, it said, while it is also paying £10m in retention bonuses.

However, it has seen a strong rebound in demand and says it is better placed than most to deal with cost increases.

Whitbread said its recovery during the six months to 26 August had been better than forecast, and it now expects revenue-per-room rates to return to pre-pandemic levels next year.

It said it had seen a strong rebound in UK demand since 17 May when Covid restrictions were eased to allow leisure overnight stays at its hotels.

At the start of this month Whitbread announced a pay increase for its UK-based hourly-paid staff.

It needs to add 2,000 staff to its current head count of 30,000, including in housekeeping, reception and kitchens.

Chief executive Alison Brittain said: " Whitbread traded significantly ahead of The Market in the UK during The First half of the year.

" The operating environment during the summer and into autumn has been challenging largely as a result of our very high occupancy levels, market-wide supply chain issues and a tighter labour supply in the hospitality sector. "

Its revenue remains 39% down on the same period pre-pandemic two years ago, but it has More Than doubled since Last Year .

Pre-tax losses in The First half of the year narrowed from £724. 7m Last Year to £19. 3m, but This Was still well down on The Profit of £219. 9m made before the pandemic.

Source of news: bbc.com