Sales at Premier Inn hotels open for at least a year fell 4.6 per cent in the first three months of 2019.

Whitbread, the chain's owner, has blamed weak trading conditions for the fall in demand for its rooms, as reported by the BBC.

The company, which has hotels in Tewkesbury, Stroud and Cirencester, as well as several in both Gloucester and Cheltenham, blamed political and uncertainty causing a knock-on effect for the regional business market. Half of Premier Inn's bookings come from business travellers.

But it said it was making good progress with its efficiency programme, which is helping to offset high industry cost inflation.

Whitbread shares were down one per cent today. Premier Inn is Whitbread's biggest brand, with more than 785 hotels and 72,000 rooms. The company also owns three restaurant chains, which all have branches in the county - Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Table Table.

Premier Inn's occupancy rates currently stand at 74.8%.

Punchline said: "If Britain's biggest budget hotel chain is feeling the pinch, this will have a knock-on effect across the industry. Hotel brands could be facing some tough decisions in the months and years ahead."