Read the latest hotel industry news from around Europe.
Accor Launches Handwritten Collection
Accor has launched a new soft brand, Handwritten Collection, which it says fills demand for unique hotels in the midscale price point. The brand has started 12 hotels signed, two of which opened on the day the brand was announced.
Management said the brand is different in that each hotel will possess something tangible that comes directly from the owner. Five more hotels will open by the end of the year. It is the French hotel firm’s 45th brand.
Central London Hotels Cheer For Demand Around Coronation
Hoteliers appear to be already cheering the May 6 coronation of King Charles III, with hotel demand rising on the day before and day of the event. It will be the first royal coronation since June 2, 1953, when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned.
According to forward-looking hotel occupancy data from STR, as of Feb. 9, hotels in the Knightsbridge, Pimlico, and Victoria area of London are 47% booked for May 5, the day before the coronation, and 44% for May 6, coronation day. STR is CoStar's hotel analytics firm.
Travelodge Hotel Renovation Rollout
Travelodge has completed the first phase of its property-upgrade program, with 65 of its hotels, including three new-builds, already donning new branding and design. The budget-hotel firm is the United Kingdom’s second-largest hotel firm by hotel number.
One notable change is that many of its updated hotels will now contain a food-and-beverage outlet, The Bar Café, with table seating, USB and laptop connections and a restaurant serving full breakfasts and dinner. So far, more than 200 hotels have the restaurant concept, including approximately half of the recently renovated hotels.
Accor’s Roquefort Underlines Investor Confidence
Agnes Roquefort, Accor’s chief development officer for luxury and lifestyle, said strong performance of the firm's hotel portfolio in 2022 is translating into investor confidence even in this year of challenges and predicted recession.
In a video interview with HNN’s Bryan Wroten at the recent Americas Lodging Investment Summit, Roquefort said certain markets can overcome issues such as inflation, labor shortages and the rising cost of debt.
External Factors Threaten Revenue Strategy at UK Hotels
Attendees at the Global Revenue Forum in London said keeping U.K. hotel demand flowing will take significant effort and sound strategy, notably because revenue managers now have more external factors to contend with.
Neil Braude, chief operating officer of The Imperial London Hotels, said the discipline of revenue management has shifted a great deal in the past two years due to the presence of many more variables. He said budgeting and cost control are affected by economic factors such as inflation, and understanding why and when guests are ready to book their stays is a constantly moving target as booking windows shift.
Europe’s All-Inclusive Resorts Gain From Competition With Big Hotel Brands
The provision of all-inclusive resorts, both in Europe and in sunny spots abroad, is no longer the sole affair of Spanish operators as the sector receives a reputational boost from the growing involvement and investment of the big hotel brands such as Fairmont, IHG Hotels & Resorts and Hyatt Hotels Corp.
Speaking at the Atlantic Ocean Hotel Investors’ Summit, Javier Águila, group president for Europe, Africa and the Middle East at Hyatt, said “all-inclusives moved from being a vacation type to an experience. It is changing quickly.”
Such moves have made the traditional players take note and up their games. Raúl González, CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Barceló Hotels & Resorts, said “The customer is [now] ready to pay more as the perception is they will receive better service and quality.
Deals and Developments
- Roseate Hotels & Resorts has opened the 35-room Roseate Edinburgh in two adjacent refurbished, heritage Victorian townhouses, formerly called The Dunstane Houses, in the center of the Scottish capital;
- Maybourne Hotel Group — operator of Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley hotels in London — is set to open its fourth hotel in the city and sixth worldwide when it debuts later this winter the 60-room The Emory;
- German hotel group Ruby Hotels has announced its debut in Ireland with the 272-room Ruby Molly that is to open in Dublin in the third quarter of 2024;
- Jumeirah Group, via its parent company Dubai Holdings, has acquired its first hotel in Switzerland — the 109-room Le Richemond, a lakeside hotel in Geneva opened in 1875. It will undergo renovation, with a proposed reopening date of 2025;
- Baglioni Hotels & Resorts has opened the 30-key Casa Baglioni, Milan — its design taking inspiration from the city in the 1930s;
- Radisson Hotel Group has taken over management of the 701-room Hotel Berlin, which debuted in 1958 and is now part of its Radisson Individuals brand;
- Hyatt is to debut its Destination by Hyatt brand in the U.K. with the Schloss Roxburghe, a converted stately home with 78 rooms and suites, 12 two-bedroom cottages, 20 keys in a manor house and 58 rooms within The Estate House. The hotel, in Kelso, Southern Scotland, also has permission to add a further 50 cottages, with work on that phase due to start later this year;
- Announcing its debut in Ireland is U.K. hotel firm EasyHotel, which has debuted its 160-room EasyHotel Dublin, also in the Irish capital;
- Investment firm Schroders Capital has acquired the 67-room The Standard Hotel, Ibiza, and awarded hotel firm Generator the management of its ONE80° Hostel, which contains 11 rooms and 121 dormitory rooms.
Hotel News Now has a new Europe, Middle East and Africa newsletter published every other Thursday. To keep up to date with what is happening in the EMEA region, sign up here.