Luxury hotel chain von Essen went into administration today after its holding company missed payments on loans worth £250m. The company runs 30 properties in the UK and one hotel in France. They include the Cliveden in Berkshire, Seaham Hall in County Durham, Amberley Castle in West Sussex and The Royal Crescent in Bath. All properties are continuing to trade normally.
While some London boutique hotels like the Hempel are totally Zen – cool minimalism, white space, almost austere in design – others are at the opposite end: crammed full of antiques, upholstery and vibrant colour. And what’s in fashion seems to swing from one pole to the other from year to year. Then each of us has our own personal taste to consider as well – do you prefer minimalism or grandeur? Open space or homely furnishings?
Check Safety First has joined forces with Diversey -- a leading supplier of hygiene and cleaning systems -- with the aim of supporting the Portuguese hotel industry in managing the issue of health and safety. Diversey has licensed Check Safety First's risk management audit system, E-Cristal, and will target hotels with this solution.
TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site, has surveyed over 5,500 Europeans* and can reveal Britons are Europe's most clueless travellers when it comes to tipping customs. Britons are least likely to know tipping procedures and most likely to find themselves in a tipping confrontation.
Latest insights from Hospitality Directions Europe. PwC's UK Hotels forecast provides in-depth forecasts of hotel revenues and occupancy rates and gives our insights on what the key trends and issues will be for the sector. In this issue: More growth and new hotels for London: Our latest hotel forecast anticipates continued strong, but decelerating, revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth of 8.3% in London in 2011.
Pubs and restaurants continue to be worst affectedHolidays are a top spending priorityRecessionary behaviours are now the norm when booking breaks
Having worked for the company for almost three years, Watson has proved to be a respected and highly capable manager, and has ambitious plans for the Heathrow airport-based hotel.
The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the fastest growing hotel companies worldwide, adds a further Park Inn flagship to its UK-portfolio and announces the Park Inn London Wembley. The 235 rooms-property is scheduled to welcome the first guests in Q2 2012.
Despite a three percentage point decline in room occupancy, profitability levels remained stable for London hoteliers in February, according to the latest HotStats survey from TRI Hospitality Consulting. The 0.4% increase in Gross Operating Profit per Available Room (GOPPAR) to £54.30 was driven by a 7.4% increase in Achieved Average Room Rate (ARR) to £122.60. As a result of the movement in room occupancy and average room rate, Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) at London hotels grew by 3.3% to £91.39.
Some of London's most prestigious hotel brands are taking legal advice over their contracts to supply rooms at preferential rates to London Olympics organisers after learning that their rooms are being resold by agents at what they consider "grossly inflated prices". The hotel groups – including Intercontinental, Hilton, Thistle, Guoman and Starwood – are said to be furious that rooms are being sold to the public as part of ticket-and-accommodation packages by Thomas Cook, the "official provider of short breaks" for London 2012.
The Cavendish recently got 35th place in the Sunday Times ’100 Best Small Companies to Work For’ – the only hotel on the list. So I phoned up Sarah Strawbridge, the Cavendish’s HR Manager and asked: “What’s the secret?” It starts with recruitment. The hotel has a very good name in the industry – not just among hotel staff but also students and lecturers, because of its policy of running student placements as a prelude to graduate jobs.
A familiar face has been appointed to lead The Stafford London by Kempinski. Effective immediately, Leon Baum assumes the role of General Manager at the hotel he has called home since 2006. Baum takes over the responsibility of the award-winning property’s operations from his predecessor, Stuart Procter.
Boris Johnson has criticised London hotels planning to raise room rates during the Olympics as “short-sighted Arthur Daleys”, warning them that price-gouging during the games could damage the capital’s tourist industry for years. Games officials make available 6.6m Olympic tickets on Tuesday to applications from the public, but travel operators have been shocked at the prices some hotels are already charging and by their demands for upfront payment and 100 per cent cancellation fees.
TripAdvisor(R), the world's largest travel site, today announced the results of its first annual survey of U.K. accommodation owners. Over 500* British hoteliers and B&B owners revealed their plans to attract customers and stimulate business growth in 2011. Survey respondents offered insights into several other hospitality industry trends, from the importance of special promotions to plans for online engagement and mobile marketing.
The prestigious Wyndham Grand, London Chelsea Harbour has implemented health and safety expert, Check Safety First's online E-Cristal health and safety risk management system to ensure the wellbeing of its guests.
RateTiger today published annual results of its channel management performance for the year 2010. The premium benchmarking and inventory management technology provider processed over 360 million updates in 2010, an increase of 88% on 2009. RateTiger publishes global hotel channel management trends annually ahead of ITB Berlin, Germany, the first global conference after years' end.
As we move firmly into the second decade of the 21st century, the issue of sustainability is no longer just for university campuses and futurologists. It has become a core driver in determining how we manage our hotel businesses. As every country and company is taking a different approach, in this article I'd like to share where the UK is now in terms of encouraging sustainability.
In January, whilst London hotels showed a Rooms Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) increase of 3.3%, Gross Operating Profit per Available Room (GOPPAR) remained stable according to the January 2011 figures in the latest HotStats survey from TRI Hospitality Consulting.
According to the latest HotStats Hotel Confidence Monitor, a third of hoteliers are more optimistic in comparison to Q4 2010. Looking forward, 62% of respondents were optimistic or very optimistic about future trading performance in Q1 2011. Our Confidence Monitor results revealed that London general managers are projecting an improvement in occupancy, room rate and hotel profitability whilst Provincial general managers are more cautious in their expectations.
The British government is pulling back its support of a hotel star rating system, but that doesn’t mean the program is going anywhere. The Independent reported the British government favors a consumer-led system. But VisitEngland, one of the organizers of the national star rating system, said the existing program will be updated and not dissolved. John Penrose, the British minister of tourism, wrote in a 1 February blog that consumer-driven websites are increasingly important, and he advised travelers not to “take any one source as gospel.”