THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE I 39 The Review ➔ New hotel group on the Bloc


A NEW hotel group enters the market this spring, describing itself as a ‘boutique budget’ brand. Bloc Hotels will mark its launch


with the opening of a four-floor, 73-guestroom property in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. The brand is the brainchild of Boxbuild which says it has drawn inspiration from Japanese pod- style hotels and uses an innovative construction system that allows for fast construction and improved sustainability practices. Rooms – which will start from


£60 a night – will feature an Italian tiled wet room and drench shower, 32-inch flatscreen TV, wifi and ambient lighting, but no ‘space- hungry wardrobes’, and ‘space- consuming’ formal dining facilities have also been done away with, though a range of drinks and snacks will be available onsite. The unorthodox decision to


ditch such facilities will save on construction costs and, ultimately, room rates, and comes in the


wake of research that reveals guests rarely unpack their bags for short hotel stays. Boxbuild director, Danny Jones,


says: “As frequent travellers, we were really frustrated with the overpriced hotel market and felt that many are inefficient and badly designed. Our research showed that guests want high levels of comfort and premium quality finishes at a reasonable


price, and so that’s the approach we’ve adopted.” He continues, “We chose Birmingham because it’s where the majority of the team hail from and, as a city, it’s totally open to new concepts. Ultimately, the plan is to roll out the Bloc concept to other prime urban locations that offer easy access to international airports. London and Manchester are both on our target list.”


QHOTELS BUYS INTO LOYALTY


THE 21-strong QHotels group has launched a loyalty scheme as part of its goal to increase its share of the corporate market by ten per cent in 2011. The group of four-star hotels is hoping some 5,000 guests will sign up to the scheme – called ThankQ Rewards – by June. Two points are accrued for every £1 spent on the total bill – including food and drink – which can be redeemed against full or part payment of any goods and services within QHotels across the UK, as well as room upgrades. “As a group we are well recognised for our conference and leisure product and less so for what we offer the business market, but we shouldn't be over- looked,“ says David Taylor, Qhotels' group sales director. “Many of our hotels occupy key city centre locations while others are just minutes from major motorway junctions.“


W MAKES ITS MOVE IN THE CAPITAL THE ROOM REPORT IN BRIEF


• RE-OPENING this April after a £30million renovation is London's four-star St Ermin's Hotel in the heart of Westminster. The hotel has 331 guestrooms and 15 meeting rooms – the largest has capacity for up to 150 people – and is a five minute walk from the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.


• PREMIER Inn has launched a new scheme for corporate travel buyers in a bid to help them better manage their bookings and spend with the UK's biggest hotel chain. Called Business Premier, the new scheme has five key features: a dedicated consultancy and account management team; a range of online and mobile self-booking tools; a UK-based corporate desk and call centre; a free credit facility to manage expenses, helping to improve MI and policy compliance; and a range of automated booking channels to integrate with existing reservation systems. ‘‘This challenges the typical business travel agent booking model as we can either put our customers in control of their bookings and expenditure directly with our business account, or work with their existing agents via direct connect to minimise costs and benefit from great rates,‘‘ says John Kerslake, Premier Inn sales director.


• GLASGOW'S historic Grand Central Hotel has reopened following a £20million refurbishment project by hotel operator Principal Hayley. The hotel has welcomed guests such as Frank Sinatra, Winston Churchill and Laurel and Hardy during its 127-year history. The hotel was stripped back to uncover many original features including original Italian marble floors, intricate cornicing and sets of windows that had been hidden for decades under the management of former owners. The hotel has 186 guestrooms, 21 function spaces, a Grand ballroom, a new restaurant called Tempus and the stylish Champagne Central bar.


STARWOOD hotels has debuted its top-end brand in the UK with the official opening of the W London Leicester Square in February. The hotel is the group's 40th W worldwide and stands ten-storeys tall on the corner of Leicester Square and Wardour Street. It has 192 guestrooms – including 17 suites, three WOW suites and one Extreme WOW suite – and the UK's first Spice Market, a South East Asian-themed restaurant in the hands of three Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten There's also a Wyld bar, SWEAT


gym, AWAY Spa, a screening room with seating for 38 and W Studio Spaces billed as “dynamic enough to host a cocktail reception, board meeting or cosy dinner.“ “We are thrilled to launch the W brand in the UK with the opening of W London,” says Roeland Vos, president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, EMEA. “After opening W hotels in Istanbul, Doha and Barcelona, the brand is on track to more than double its footprint over the next three years with further new hotels in destinations such as St. Petersburg, Paris and Milan.”


• MARRIOTT has announced a tie-up with Spanish group AC Hotels which will see a new brand and some 90 hotels across Spain, Italy and Portugal come under the Marriott portfolio. The newly-named AC Hotels by Marriott brand features properties in key cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca, Granada, Milan, Pisa, Lisbon and Porto. The integration with Marriott booking portals should be concluded by May and will be part of the Marriott Rewards programme by September. Last year Marriott announced plans to double its European portfolio – from 40,000 to 80,000 rooms – in five years. The addition of AC Hotels, with 9,100 rooms, is a major step forward.


42 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE


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