Global hotel groups ➔
intelligence and ongoing security concerns also determine hotel choice and guest loyalty certainly comes into play. Reward programmes are an extremely effective tool in driving choice, with employers keen to keep their employees happy by offering their preferred brand choice. That aside, guests enjoy the consistency of experience that they get from a brand. “Variety of brands is also important but
Pictured: Starwood's Aloft London Excel; Below: TRYP by Wyndham
there are other elements that impact the decision making process as well. People are looking for elements of differentiation linked to service – a consistency and a guarantee that they will get the desired level of service, time and time again. Naturally, with the bigger brands, you get that required geographical spread as well.” Best Western Hotels GB’ sales director
gener“ As the careers of a new ation of traveller progress,
there is a growing desire to see a wider variety of hotel options to
satisfy the different aspirations of a changing demographic
”
Will Helsby is like-minded: “Although the corporate market is strengthening, corporate buyers and their TMCs are still taking a very thorough approach to their hotel programmes. This is probably from lessons learned over the lean years. “Location, traveller safety and value added benefits such as our free wifi offer are all key to hotel selection. We offer the best of both worlds, a recognised global brand with the assurance of our brand quality assessments and also the individuality and personality of independently owned and operated hotels,” says Helsby. But Jon West, managing director of hotel solutions provider HRS, warns corporates that playing safe and sticking to what you know can have its down sides. West explains: “Independent hotels can
often have more attractive prices, and as they’ve started to improve the level and depth of content about the property, this has really helped the booker make better- informed decisions about whether to go
EXPANSION PLANS
• Hilton Worldwide earlier this year the group opened its biggest Hampton by Hilton outside the US, the Hampton by Hilton Waterloo (the brand’s entry to central London). The group has also just opened the DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre. • Rezidor has been forging ahead with its growth in emerging markets such as Russia/CIS, Africa and the Middle East. In 2013, it opened 14 hotels across EMEA and added a further 32 hotels and 6,400 rooms to the development pipeline. In the UK, it opened the Park Inn by Radisson Glasgow City Centre. It has also launched two new brands, Gen Y-focused Radisson Red and the Quorvus Collection. • Choice Hotels says it’s been putting emphasis on growing room stock in the most sought after business locations. It has just opened its 19th property in London, the Comfort Inn Westminster, and has also unveiled its first Manchester property, the Comfort Inn Manchester North. Across Europe properties have been added in Lyon, Rome and Oslo, and Dublin’s Gibson hotel has joined the upmarket Ascend Hotel
Collection. There has also been a focus on hotel development in China and India, following demand from business travellers for mid-market hotels there. • Marriott has added two new brands to the portfolio in the past 12 months, meaning it now has 18 brands worldwide. Moxy Hotels opens this September in Milan, the first in Europe, and the group has also acquired well-known African group Protea Hotels, making it the largest hotelier on the continent. • Accor has been busy in Asia-Pacific with its upscale Pullman brand. In the last two years it has seen openings in Bangkok, Brussels, Jakarta and Sydney, plus London. In Asia, the brand opened 15 addresses in two years, most recently in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. And the growth continues. It aims to open 47 more Pullmans by 2018. • IHG’s Holiday Inn Express brand continues to be its biggest growth engine with 491 hotels set to open across the globe in the next three to five years. Some 83 extended-stay Staybridge Suites are due to open in the next three to five years.
with a large hotel group or an independent. “And with better content, comes more choice, in turn leading to better adoption and compliance as there is less leakage from the programme,” adds West. No room for complacency, then. But
there’s little chance of that, with the hotel goliaths making sure they stay on top of traveller trends in the years ahead. Marriott’s Belinda Pote neatly sums up the balancing act facing the big players right now: “As travel becomes an increasingly frequent part of people’s work and social lives, and the careers of a new generation of traveller progress, there is a growing desire to see a wider variety of hotel options to satisfy the different aspirations of a changing demographic.” She continues, “The core Marriott brands
continue to see strong growth, and an increasingly loyal customer base, but our other hotel brands are also performing well. These newest brands, including Moxy, enable us to cater to a wider demographic while offering the peace of mind associated with staying at a Marriott International hotel and access to a loyalty scheme.”
58 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76