Accor, the world's leading hotel operator and the market leader in Europe, is set to realise its ambition to increase the UK network to 300 hotels by 2015 with the signing of a franchise agreement with Jupiter Hotels Ltd, the new owners of the former Jarvis hotels. This is a landmark deal for the UK hotel industry in 2011.
ROYAL BANK of Scotland is set to seize control of Jarvis Hotels, the troubled hotel operator, as the lender looks to claw back £130 million (€151 million) of debt. The bank, which has teamed up with private equity group PatronCapital, is preparing to push Jarvis through a pre-pack administration that would allow it to acquire 20 hotels the group owns under freehold.
Great Britain’s largest group of independent hotels, Best Western, has today announced a change to the structure of its 276 hotels. Today Richard Lewis, newly appointed CEO of Best Western, launched three hotel tiers; Best Western, Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier, in a move that sees the company embark upon a nationwide brand enhancement strategy.
In March when we published our last forecast I expected that the economic outlook would have shown signs of brightening by now, but if anything the omens today look worse and the risks to UK GDP growth are firmly to the downside. Notwithstanding this, our forecasts for 2011 and 2012 hotel performance are substantially unchanged from March and, with nearly nine months under the belt, 2011's forecast outturn looks pretty much assured, particularly for London.
By strange coincidence, it seems that 2011 is the year of the Big Birthday for London’s hotels. Join in the party at these favourites… | Happy 20th to The Halkin... This month marks the 20th birthday of The Halkin and it’s celebrating with a series of events showcasing the ‘Home From Home’ ethic that it has always been proud of. Until 30th November, you can enjoy the pop-up ‘Culture Lounge’ in The Halkin’s bar showcasing the most iconic coffee table books from art publisher ASSOULINE. It’s open both to guests and non-residents. Literary events with the authors are also planned.
Availpro focuses on meetings with British hotel ownersAvailpro first entered the UK market at the Hostec trade show in Birmingham, where the company had a stand from 24th to 26th January 2011. This was a particularly successful event for Availpro, holding meetings with more than 50 hotels and hotel chains, along with other partners including web agencies, distributors and PMSs. This initial event was followed by a number of conferences in London and face-to-face meetings organised by Availpro sales representatives throughout the UK.
Based on the success of the newly created Paris-Lausanne Society last year in Paris, Prof. Michel Rochat, Director General at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, has signed the Foundation Chart of the London-Lausanne Society together with His Excellency, Mr. Anton Thalmann, Swiss Ambassador to UK, on the 15 September 2011 at the Swiss Embassy in London. The London-Lausanne Society shall be a platform to promote new partnerships and collaborations between different key stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, the industry to Universities and Business School together with the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne.
On the heels of the completion of a more than £6 million renovation and the opening of The Lyttelton, The Stafford London by Kempinski is experiencing change within their executive team as well. Katerina Esakova has been appointed as Director of Sales, effectively immediately. Esakova brings almost a decade of hotel sales and business development experience within the travel and luxury hospitality sectors to The Stafford. She has lead sales and marketing teams at some of the top hotels in Europe including Park Hyatt Moscow. Most recently, Esakova served at Acting Assistant Director of Sales/Business Development Manager at The Langham, London (a member of Leading Hotels of the World.)
Interchange and Consort Hotels, the parent brand of Best Western Great Britain, Beacon Purchasing and Innfutures, has appointed Richard Lewis as chief executive.
The Rezidor Hotel Group has appointed Hans Konings as the General Manager of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Liverpool. Hans, who is Dutch, has a solid background in the hospitality industry. He gained his professional experience working in various positions for a number of hotels in the Netherlands. Hans joined Rezidor in 2003 as Service Manager Front Office at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Amsterdam before transferring to the Park Inn Heathrow to take on the position of Assistant Front office Manager in May 2005 – earning a promotion to Front Office Manager just five months later.
Mint Hotels is to be rebranded as one of the Hilton Worldwide brands following the acquisition of the company by the private equity Blackstone Group for a reported £600m. It is believed that the DoubleTree by Hilton and the Hilton Garden Inn brands are the most likely names to be attached to the eight Mint hotels - seven in the UK and one in Amsterdam. The Blackstone Group is the owner of Hilton Worldwide.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)—the voice of the global business travel industry—is pleased to announce that John Melchior, managing director of JME Consultancy Enterprises Ltd., has been appointed GBTA Foundation’s new European Regional Development Director. Mr. Melchior will be based in the United Kingdom. Mr. Melchior will be responsible for planning, managing and advancing the strategic initiatives of the Foundation by creating corporate partnerships for education and research initiatives throughout Europe. As the primary European liaison to the GBTA Foundation, Melchior will work closely with GBTA Foundation Executive Director, Daphne Bryant and Foundation Chair, Steve Singh.
We’ve recently been naming and shaming 5 star London hotels with expensive WiFi charges – a policy we believe can never be justified. To further challenge these hotels, we’ve identified four significantly cheaper hotels in the 4 star category which outperform their more expensive 5 star competitors by offering free WiFi to their guests. What’s more, the following free WiFi London hotels are also all currently in the top 20 on TripAdvisor – so they give you great value for money in other ways too:
Jones’ new responsibilities include providing strategic leadership to global intermediary segments such as travel management companies, travel agencies, group intermediaries, wholesalers, group tour operators and consortia. He will continue to provide strategic oversight to Marriott’s global sales operations located throughout Europe.
FCS, a leading comprehensive hospitality solutions provider, has expanded its presence in the EMEA region, with a move from its former Wiltshire, UK base in Swindon to larger, custom-built head offices at Kembrey Park. The newly consolidated EMEA headquarters for FCS, named "FCS House," represent a significant investment and commitment towards establishing a firm foundation for the company's anticipated future growth in the EMEA region.
Park Plaza Westminster Bridge first appointed Daniel to the role of hotel manager in November 2009. Having honed his skills at a host of UK hotels and venues such as Grosvenor House, Le Meridien Piccadilly, Café Royal and Somerset House for more than 20 years, Daniel brings a wealth of knowledge to the role and has particular expertise in providing outstanding service to large events and conference guests.
Quadriga has today announced the acquisition of SmoovieTV, the specialists in the provision of a patented TV paywall solution to the hospitality and healthcare markets. The SmoovieTV acquisition is the first step in Quadriga's new growth strategy and will enable the business to reach the wider hospitality market and increase its range of TV based communication and entertainment solutions.
HSMAI Europe has the great pleasure to announce that our own Hans Stenseng, leader of the HSMAI Student division, has won a prize awarded by STR Global for his essay on:
DoubleTree by Hilton has announced its latest UK location with the opening of DoubleTree by Hilton Sheffield Park. Formerly the Sheffield Park Hotel, the 95-bedroom property, which is located on Chesterfield Road on the outskirts of Sheffield, has undergone a significant refurbishment to offer guests and the local community both outstanding accommodations and some of the finest business, conference and leisure facilities in the city.
Quadriga has today announced its plans to launch a 3D video on-demand solution specifically designed for the hospitality sector which will be provided through Quadriga's guest communication and entertainment solution, Sensiq. Working in partnership with world renowned TV manufacturer Samsung Electronics, Quadriga will deliver a 3D in-room experience that enables guests to watch selected 3D content on-demand. A joint solution from LG will follow shortly.