1 Hotel cover.indd - Nicola Cottam

The industry has also been impressed with the Westminster site, showering it with awards, including Best Business
Hotel Brand at the Business Travel World Awards 2006 and Group Hotel of the Year at the Caterer and Hotelkeeper
Awards 2005. So what has the chain done to deserve such honours?
“We provide great service, we’re very accessible as a company and we really communicate with the customer,” says
Hood. “A lot of people in the hotel industry ask what the customer wants, but then don’t actually do it. We really
keep up with our customers’ needs – we talk to them quite a lot and respond to those needs.”
Hood also believes City Inn Hotels offer excellent value for money. “We’ve been described as budget but in terms
of the facilities we’re so far away from that. However, we are affordable. Rooms in London are approximately £179
plus VAT, with breakfast. The provincial hotels vary but are around the £100 mark.”
Future prospects: Rooms in Bristol and Glasgow are soon to be refurbished and self check-in kiosks have already
been installed in Westminster. Four other properties are planned by 2010, with investment totalling about £330m.
These include a 550-room hotel near the Tower Of London, complete with rooftop bar and meeting rooms, a
284-room property in Manchester, a 330-room hotel in Leeds, and its first overseas project, a 550-room property
in Amsterdam. Orr has also said the company has targeted a site in Edinburgh and is actively seeking further sites
in Milan, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid and Paris. In the long term, the US is also on the agenda.
Says Hood: “Occupancy across all the hotels is 80-85%, which we’re very happy with, our plans to move into Europe
are on track and we will announce another two or three sites next year. We’re full steam ahead, basically.”
Writer: Wendy Granditer
Hot Concepts: City Inn
March 2007 Hotel Report Guide to UK Hotels 2007 l © William Reed Publishing 20