Industry News, August 2010

The Rezidor Hotel Group has announced the opening of the Radisson Blu Hotel, East Midlands Airport in the UK. The new build property featuring 216 guest rooms is scheduled to open its doors in Q1 2012.

Jurys Inn Bradford has opened offering comfortable 3 star accommodation at competitive prices; 3 meeting rooms that hold up to 40 people in each, a stylish Bar & Restaurant and also a cardio gym.

Corinthia Hotels have released further details of the five-star luxury hotel it is building in central London, which is due to open in early 2011. It will become the world’s ninth Corinthia hotel.  The hotel is being constructed within an imposing Victorian building, on a city block location between Whitehall Place, Northumberland Avenue and Great Scotland Yard, overlooking Trafalgar Square and the River Thames. The grand Victorian exterior houses fully-reconstructed elegant and contemporary interiors set around an inner foyer and garden, two restaurants, a luxury spa, a concept cocktail bar, boardroom meeting facilities and a beautifully refurbished grand ballroom.  There will be 294 intricately designed guest accommodations, including 45 luxurious suites.

The Mersey Partnership (TMP) Tourism Awards 2010 saw Echo Arena Liverpool scoop the award for Performance Venue of the year.

The Science Museum will re-open its event space, the Wellcome Wing, after a 6 month refurbishment programme.

Two more premier Westminster venues have joined The Westminster Collection this week. They are The UK Supreme Court, based in Parliament Square, which recently re-opened after an extensive refurbishment; and 116 Pall Mall, the home of the Institute of Directors. Bringing the number of venues exclusively showcased to 46.

The Radisson Edwardian Group has been given a Platinum Award in the Green 500 Initiative – Boris Johnson’s ambitious plan to make London a greener place. The hotel group won the top award at the recent Green 500 Awards ceremony for its encouragement of staff to find inventive ways to save energy which has already resulted in a 13% cut in electricity. The group have also installed a CHP plant unit at their Heathrow Hotel which will save £70,000 a year in energy costs. Low energy light bulbs are now in guest bedrooms and corridors throughout the estate with movement sensors in low use public and staff areas. These initiatives are part of a radical ten-year programme across twelve hotels based in London to create the greenest hotels in the capital. Radisson Edwardian have a Responsible Business Team of 22 and a Green Team at each hotel of six people who meet regularly to discuss new ideas and the suggestions of the 1500 company employees who are involved in the initiative. Since formation in 2009 there have been 32 suggestions that have been implemented with a huge effect on the company’s carbon footprint.

The Thistle is located in the heart of Manchester, and only 5 minutes from Piccadilly station. The progress so far is that 5th floor bedrooms have started to be refurbished and 6th & 7th floor bedrooms completed. The completion date for all of the bedrooms is 19th October and the rest of the hotel by mid November.

41 Portland Place, a grade II listed Georgian townhouse that was designed by James Adams in 1773, opens as an event space in October. The venue is currently benefiting from a £5m refurbishment and is home to the Academy of Medical Sciences. Event spaces are spread over three floors, with seven meeting rooms and an outdoor terrace.

Base2stay Liverpool a multi-million pound hotel development in the centre of Liverpool’s historic RopeWalks district welcomes its first guests. Bookings are now being taken for the unique base2stay hotel in Seel Street, at the heart of the former European Capital of Culture’s nightlife and entertainment quarter. The hotel arrives in the city following the success of its flagship venture in London’s Kensington. It will be the second base2stay hotel in the country. One of its unique selling points is rather than having a bar or dining facilities on site, each air-conditioned room is equipped with a mini-kitchen, and the hotel encourages guests to explore their surroundings by offering exclusive discounts at restaurants, bars and cultural venues across the city.

Crowne Plaza Heythrop Park – Oxford is set to open in Oxfordshire in October. The £50m property will be located in the Heythrop Park Resort and will offer 197 rooms, a Diarmuid Gavin-designed, Moroccan-style courtyard and a cocktail bar. The resort also offers the 153-room Heythrop Park Hotel, an 18-hole golf course, a contemporary health club, four restaurants and bars, and a conference centre with capacity for 450 delegates.

The University of Sunderland has become a member of Newcastle Gateshead Convention Bureau. The university has joined as a Newcastle Gateshead Initiative convention bureau and corporate member. It offers five riverside and city centre venues, including City Space, which recently hosted BBC events such as the televised North East Sport Awards. The venues offer several lecture spaces with capacity for 800 delegates and an onsite cinema.

Scalford Hall management training centre in Leicestershire has opened new Xperiential Learning facilities. The range of activities can be used individually or as a course, with more than 30 pieces of equipment and activities to choose from – some as high as 16 metres off the ground – all located in the beautiful landscaped gardens or woodlands of Scalford Hall. The new product will enhance classroom training and meetings at the venue by re-energising and bonding the team.

Hilton Garden Inn has opened in Aberdeen city centre. The new build hotel offers 100 bedrooms, all featuring a spacious work desk, ergonomic Mirra chair by Herman Miller, telephone with data port and voicemail and complimentary wired and wireless high-speed internet access. Bathrooms contains a separate bath and double size walk-in rain shower, while other amenities at the hotel include a business centre and Pavilion Pantry which are both open 24-hours a day.

Four-star boutique hotel group Abode has opened an 85-room property in Chester. The hotel is situated adjacent to Chester’s ‘Roodee’ racecourse, overlooking the River Dee, and offers a choice of room categories from ‘Comfortable’ through to ‘Fabulous’. Three sixth floor Fabulous suites feature hand-built beds and oversized baths along with private balconies. All rooms feature bespoke art created by celebrity photographer, Brian Aris, while the 76-seat Michael Caines Champagne Bar and Restaurant has floor to ceiling windows offering far reaching city views.

International

On 15 June, NH Hoteles and its largest suppliers (NH Sustainable Club) met with one another to share their thoughts about sustainability. In 2008, NH Hotels drew up its Environmental Strategic Plan. Since that time, they have been able to save 12% on energy consumption and 25% on water consumption. Furthermore, CO2 emissions have been reduced by 16% and NH produced 17% less waste. These results were achieved through a wide variety of initiatives, such as new product-thawing processes and oxo-bio facilities.

The five star Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa has opened its doors and is celebrating this with a magnificent opening promotion. This beautiful brand-new luxurious resort enjoys a peaceful location amongst unspoilt beaches, nature reserves and cultural and historical areas in Sicily. With two 18-hole golf courses, this is an ideal spot for golf enthusiasts.

The Courtyard Charleston/Summerville in South Carolina will be the first hotel built using Marriott International’s green hotel prototype, in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This will dramatically accelerate the company’s goal to have 300 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) hotels by 2015. Marriott is the first in the hospitality industry to launch a green hotel prototype that has been pre-approved by USGBC as part of its LEED Volume Program, meaning that any Marriott hotel that follows these plans will earn basic LEED certification, or possibly higher, upon USGBC final approval.

Intercontinental Hotels Group has reported a 22% rise in its operating profits, citing growth in business travel and demand in the Far East. IHG – which owns Holiday Inn – revealed its interim results this morning, with operating profits up to £138m ($219m) from £113m ($179m). The group’s revenue was up 6%, from £459m ($726m) to £488m ($772m).

IHG opened 148 hotels in the first half of the year and expects to open a further 140 over the rest of 2010. IHG’s senior vice president, global corporate affairs Leslie McGibbon said: “Business travel had almost disappeared last year and we have seen the return of that with the improvement in the economy across the top end and middle market.” McGibbon added that while growth in China had been particularly strong, there had also been a very good performance in London. London’s hotels saw a 5.9% increase in revenue per available room over the first six months of the year.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly Hilton Hotels), the flagship brand of Hilton Worldwide, introduced a refreshed brand name and logo today. The new name and stylish logo holistically represent the brand’s extensive global portfolio, which includes more than 70 resorts with more than 32,600 guest rooms in key leisure markets around the world. “Generations of global travellers share a strong connection with our brand identity,” said Dave Horton, global head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand. “Our name and core mark are both recognizable and incredibly powerful. This evolution reflects the modern style and world-class resorts that define our brand today.”