programme was designed using feedback from the company’s business and leisure customers and offers a marked upgrade on the previous standard,” says spokeswoman Shakila Ahmed.
LONDON AND THE SOUTH EAST UBS BUYS 20,000 ROOM NIGHTS IN LONDON PER YEAR. “Last year, hotels were still looking for increases and occupancy was very positive,” says Kevin Carr, who handles global travel management. “We have got partnerships that allow us to contain that but up to now it has been a seller’s market.” However, “there will be a major increase in supply over the next 12-18 months, so we are anticipating that will make a difference for us”, he says. The bank’s programme comprises upscale and midmarket properties, and a competitive environment means hotels make an effort to keep corporate business. “There has been a lot of investment in product and we are seeing them being a bit more creative on pricing, including things like minibars and bottled water,” Carr says. “And although free internet is seen as a given, quality is being upgraded because they are more aware that people are travelling with two or three devices.” With an ever-increasing choice of hotels in the capital, existing properties continue to reinvent themselves. The former Sheraton Park Lane on Piccadilly emerged in October as Sheraton Grand London Park Lane after a multi-million pound transformation (see Reviews, p90). The 303-room property has acquired 43 Sheraton Club Rooms with a Sheraton Club Lounge. Athenaeum Hotel and Residences has also emerged from a comprehensive revamp that brings new meeting and event spaces with floor-to-ceiling windows to maximise daylight. Canopy by Hilton makes its debut in the City of London in 2018, with wifi and breakfast included in the room rate. Under an agreement with Criterion Capital, Bespoke Hotels
will be operating properties in London that include the 86-room M Gallery in Leicester Square, opening late this year, followed by further properties in Leicester Square, Piccadilly and Greenwich. And just 20 minutes from Heathrow, Foxhills Club and Resort
in Surrey has emerged from a £1.7 million investment, bringing improvements to bedrooms, golf course, spa and kitchen.
WEST AND WEST COUNTRY
Top: Jurys Inn Hinckley Island, Leicestershire; centre: Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, London; bottom: The Alverton, Truro
MIDLANDS AND COTSWOLDS
JURYS INN OXFORD AND JURYS INN HINCKLEY ISLAND, Leicestershire, are undergoing extensive refurbishments that are due for comple- tion in December. Overall, the group has increased meeting facili- ties by 78 per cent, which is part of a group-wide £100 million in- vestment. Travelodge Derby opened this year with the company’s new Dreamer king-sized beds and ‘best ever breakfast’ –restaurant breakfast sales are up 13 per cent. The improvements are part of a £100 million investment across the group. “The modernisation
76 BBT November/December 2016
“THE SOUTH WEST HAS THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION of hospitality jobs,” says managing director of Accorhotels UK and Ireland, Thomas Dubaere. “In Bristol, Accor has seven hotels; we have an M Gallery in Bath; and we have just signed a Mercure Hotel in Bridgwater.” Accor will open five hotels in the UK in 2016/17, representing a £160 million investment. After a multi-million pound refurbishment and restoration,
the Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa, Bath, has opened a Walled Garden and Garden Villa, which fits the bill for informal meetings. Exeter is upping its game with the opening of a Premier Inn in
Southernhay, and Mercure Exeter Rougemont Hotel is refurbish- ing bedrooms, with 43 done, 55 to be completed by the end of November. And in Cornwall, the Alverton, just outside Truro, has added 15 bedrooms in a £1 million restoration of outbuildings.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
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