The Set, the hotel collection behind Hotel Café Royal, London, Conservatorium, Amsterdam and the Lutetia, Paris is pleased to announce the appointment of Guillaume Marly as Managing Director for Hotel Café Royal.
Hotels in the U.K. posted their highest ever occupancy, average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) levels for any H1 record. Compared with the first six months of 2016, the U.K. recorded a 1.7% increase in occupancy to an actual level of 75%, a 4.7% increase in ADR to GBP89and a 6.5% increase in RevPAR to GBP67.
Overlooking the world-famous Trafalgar Square, The Trafalgar St. James, Curio Collection by Hilton, has officially joined the exclusive collection of more than 35 hotels and resorts. As the first Curio Collection by Hilton hotel in the UK, the hotel was hand-picked to be a part of the global, upper upscale collection of one-of-a-kind independent properties all celebrated for their individuality.
Over the last few months, Guestline has substantially boosted the number of Scottish hotels selecting its global hospitality software with over 1,000 additional bedrooms now utilising the innovative cloud based technology. Guestline's portfolio of Scotland-based clients has expanded enormously in the last two years to include a wide range of city-centre, coastal, country house, boutique and hotel group customers.
pentahotels, the neighbourhood lifestyle hotel group, has announced the appointment of Zsolt Jakri as General Manager of pentahotel Inverness.
HOSPA – the Association providing unparalleled support for hospitality's Finance, Revenue Management, Marketing and IT professionals with career development, networking and up-dating on industry trends and developments – is delighted to announce its highly topical autumn line-up of discussions and seminars, open not just to HOSPA members but the hospitality industry as a whole.
STR's July 2017 Pipeline Report shows 178,105 rooms in 1,167 hotel projects Under Contract in Europe. The total represents a 20.0% increase in rooms Under Contract compared with July 2016. Under Contract data includes projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages but does not include projects in the Unconfirmed stage. Europe reported 77,280 rooms in 499 projects In Construction for the month. Based on number of rooms, that is a 22.0% increase in year-over-year comparisons. Five key European markets reported more than 2,000 rooms In Construction:
Browse and book our Top 10 exclusive hotel offers in popular locations including Yorkshire, Cotswolds, New Forest and Devon. These offers include exclusive rates on five-star rooms, fine-dining restaurants, weekend spa breaks, afternoon tea and complimentary tickets to a range of local attractions and events.
The first six months of 2017 produced the U.K. hotel industry's highest occupancy, average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) for any first half on record, according to data from STR. Compared with the first six months of 2016, the U.K. recorded a 1.7% increase in occupancy to an actual level of 75.1%, a 4.7% increase in ADR to GBP89.33 and a 6.5% increase in RevPAR to GBP67.12. STR analysts note that the devaluation in the pound sterling following the June 2016 Brexit vote has resulted in strong tourism growth for the U.K., which has in turn benefitted the country's hotel sector. According to recent figures published by VisitBritain, total visits to the U.K. were up 9% from January to May 2017. While arrivals from Europe were up just 5% during the first five months of the year, arrivals from North America increased 22%, and visits from the rest of the world were up 25%. VisitBritain's findings also show that visitor spending increased 14% for the January to May period, indicating that many travelers are taking advantage of the more favorable currency exchange rate. This aligns with the country's hotel rate growth, which was particularly high in London, up 6.2% to GBP143.57 in H1. The U.K. capital continues to post performance growth, despite experiencing terror attacks in March and June.
Richard Storey joins Woodlands Park Hotel in Cobham, Surrey, with extensive experience in the region having worked in multiple locations across the South East. Richard moves across to Hand Picked Hotels after nine years with IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), most recently as General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Marlow and prior to that at the Holiday Inn Chessington.
Peter Dornom is a seasoned hotelier with over 33 years’ experience in the hospitality industry and joins Norton House Hotel after 23 years with Marriott and Whitbread, most recently following 15 years as General Manager of the Marriott in Edinburgh. After beginning his career with a traineeship at Selsdon Park Hotel in Surrey, Peter took on management roles in operations at the Copthorne Hotel Birmingham, the Goodwood Park Hotel, Golf & Country Club and Tewkesbury Park Hotel, Golf & Country Club, before his first General Manager role in 1996 at the Stone House Hotel in Staffordshire.
Pentahotels, the innovative lifestyle hotel group, has promoted Ben Thomas to the position of Regional Director pentahotels UK, effective from 1 June 2017. In his new role, Ben will take over from Andrew Munt, who was promoted to Vice President Operations for the group earlier this year. Ben will now be responsible for all hotel operations and management within the region.
STR's preliminary July 2017 data for hotels in London, England, indicates strong rate growth. Based on daily data from June, London reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
The Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) - the not-for-profit trade body for the serviced apartment sector - is delighted to announce that Cathy O'Dowd will be the keynote speaker for its annual Convention in London on 7 December.The first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest from both its north and south side, Cathy is an exceptional motivational speaker, and will inspire delegates as she takes them on an expedition sharing stories about leading teams and executing plans in high-risk high-stress environments while striving for big goals, based around her experience rea ching the summit of Mount Everest.James Foice, Chief Executive of the ASAP, comments:'It's fantastic to have secured Cathy O'Dowd as our keynote speaker for our 2017 Convention. Our 2017 Convention theme is 'Rising to the Challenge' and who better than Cathy to inspire our delegates about how to succeed in the most challenging situations, run successful projects, get the best out of people and achieve your goals, based on her real-life insights on the many challenges she has faced as an adventurer and explorer'.Speaking from her home in Andorra, Cathy O'Dowd comments:'People assume the biggest challenge of Everest is the storms, or the cold, or the altitude. It's not. It's yourself, and your team. Much of what happens around you is out of your control, but how you react to it, how you manage the opportunities and the difficulties - that's what makes the difference between failure and success.'ASAP is also very pleased to con firm that best-selling author Frances Edmonds will compere the 2017 Convention for the first time.Tickets are now on sale for the event and can be booked on the dedicated Convention website – http://asapconvention.org.uk . Early-bird booking runs until 30 September.Further details of the Convention seminar programme will be released later this summer.
The first six months of 2017 has seen the highest number of hotel bedrooms opening in the UK since 2012, according to Hotel Bulletin Q2 2017, published this week by HVS, AlixPartners, STR and AM:PM. Growth in hotel RevPAR [rooms revenue per available room] in all but two UK cities; double-figure growth in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast; and London recording an 8% uplift demonstrates that international visitors are still coming to the UK on the back of a weaker pound and a number of high-profile events. The hotel sector is well placed for further growth in visitor numbers with more than 7,500 new hotel bedrooms opening during the first half of 2017, up 40% on last year's figures. Budget brand Premier Inn continued its expansion during Q2, with two new hotels opening as well as the group's fifth hub by Premier Inn, at London's King's Cross. However, Q2 also saw notable activity from independently branded hotels, striking an alternative to the more traditional hotel offer. 'While there will always be a strong demand for branded hotels, we are certainly seeing a growing appetite amongst hotel guests, primarily those in London, for something a little different. Boutique hotels in quirky buildings with a strong stamp of personality and a more unusual proposition are becoming very fashionable amongst discerning customers,' commented HVS London chairman, Russell Kett. Typical examples include the new 252-room, five-star The Ned, opened by Soho House in May. The hotel, converted from the former Midland Bank, boasts nine dining venues and a bar in the Bank's former vaults. In a similar vein, plans have been submitted for a four-star, 214-room Hoxton Hotel in London's Shepherd's Bush with a café and leisure scheme, a third London hotel for Hoxton Hotels. A number of designer hotels have also opened in Shoreditch, billed as London's new creative hub, including the high-end Curtain Hotel and The Nobu Hotel, a first for London, although the third Nobu restaurant to open in the capital. 'A recognised brand name is less important in London as it's a strong market. The new, independent hotels emerging like the Hoxton benefit from their association with Soho House for their restaurants and bars; and The Ned benefits from its co-ownership by Soho House,' added Kett. There is also a clutch of luxury hotels in London's hotel pipeline bringing new brands to the capital such as the Armani at Admiralty Arch, Raffles in the Old War Office, Belmond in the redeveloped Cadogan Hotel, and Cheval Blanc in the former US Embassy. In addition, The Peninsula London on Hyde Park Corner, due to open in 2021, will have the largest rooms of any luxury hotel in the city. 'This activity confirms that London is still a magnet for high-end global hotel brands and demonstrates that the hotel sector is adapting to customer demand and the need to stay ahead of the game by offering something on-trend and edgy,' Kett said.
Raheel Baggia, Senior Director, BMSC Planning and Services will be responsible for Integration and Change Management, Program Execution and Training. Prior to this Raheel served as Director, BMSC Consulting-Middle East and Africa. Since joining Marriott in 2013, Raheel has been working on strategic continent projects both in his previous role supporting BMSC-Middle East and Africa as well as in Europe where he was part of the Global Operations team.
GOPPAR at hotels in the UK increased by 5.4% this month, in spite of the heightened uncertainty across the country as the snap general election ended in yet another hung parliament, according to the latest worldwide poll of full-service hotels from HotStats.
St James's Hotel Group has appointed Simon Hall as General Manager for the 166-bed boutique Hotel Indigo Bath. Joining the group with over 25 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, Simon will oversee the day to day running of the new hotel set to launch in Spring 2018. Sian Pirone, Director of Sales and Marketing for St James's Hotel Group said: “We are delighted to have Simon joining our team at such a pivotal point in the development of the hotel. With Simon’s passion for hotels and proven track record in developing and managing a successful team, we are excited to work together towards the successful launch of Hotel Indigo Bath next year.” Prior to joining the group, Simon worked as General Manager at the 332- bedroom Holiday Inn London-Regent’s Park. During his time there, Simon moved the hotel up 60 places on TripAdvisor, achieved Venue Verdict Gold status for meetings and raised over £25,000 for the hotel’s nominated charity.
Small Luxury Hotels of the World is delighted to announce The LaLiT London as the latest addition to its collection of small, independently owned hotels in the UK capital. The hotel, which is available to book from 26th July via the SLH website opened in February 2017 and is the first overseas venture for New Delhi-based hotel company The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group.
Hilton London Metropole announced the appointment of Remco Norden as general manager on July 1. A Dutch national who speaks five languages, Norden has 23 years of experience with Hilton in a variety of commercial and operational roles in the U.K. and overseas, most recently at the 821-room Hilton London Gatwick Airport Hotel, where he had been general manager since 2016. In January 2014, he opened Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center, Hilton’s flagship and largest hotel in continental Europe. The hotel went on to win a number of company awards for its sales performance, as well as being recognised in the “2016 Best Places to Work Turkey” and nominated as “2016 Best Conference Hotel Europe” in the Grand Travel Awards. During his tenure as general manager at Hilton Warsaw Hotel & Convention Center, the hotel won total of 13 awards from seven different organizations in 2011 alone, including Best Employer, Best Hotel and Best Sustainability Initiatives.