The Business Travel Magazine June/July 2019

THE REVIEW
R O O M R E P O R T
IN BRIEF
Property extension
American Express Global
Business Travel has
expanded its accommodation
programme to
comprise more than two
million properties
worldwide. The new
content comes through the
extension of GBT’s
existing partnership with
booking.com, adding
‘more properties in
different types of
locations’. Users can now
also access booking.com
Genius Rates which offer
savings of at least 10% on
bookings at ‘thousands’ of
hotels worldwide.
Green rooms
Edwardian Hotels London
has secured a £175 million
Green Loan from HSBC
UK to ensure its new hotel,
The Londoner, will be one
of the greenest hotels in
the UK. It is the first deal
in the sector that meets
the Green Loan Principles,
which were set out in
March 2018 to encourage
and facilitate environmentally-friendly
economic
activity. The funding will
be used to ensure the new
hotel meets, and exceeds,
the BREEAM Excellent
standard in building
environmental and
sustainable performance.
Royal refurb
The 150-year-old Bristol
Marriott Royal Hotel –
the oldest hotel in the city
– has undergone a
multimillion-pound
restoration. The work has
been completed across all
rooms at the four-star
hotel, plus six meeting
rooms and 20 breakout
rooms including the grade
II listed Victorian Palm
Court room.
IHG expands its
extended stay options
intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) is introducing a
new brand, Atwell Suites, an upper-midscale product that will
bridge the gap between its hotel and extended stay offerings.
IHG says the new brand will be suited to guests staying four
to six nights – a market it values at $18billion – and believes it
is a strong follow-up to the successful rollout of Avid hotels,
the fastest brand launch in its history.
Features of Atwell Suites properties include all-studio
suites featuring kitchenettes, plus social areas, flexible
meeting spaces and a bar. In addition, the hotels will offer
complimentary hot breakfast to all guests and inclusive wifi.
“Our newest offer gives owners and guests something
different to what’s out there today – a stylish suite with the
flex for guests to work, socialise or explore over a four-tosix-night
stay,” says Keith Barr, Chief Executive Officer.
fifth hotel from dakota
group lands in manchester
the Dakota Manchester hotel
opened in May, situated on Ducie
Street close to Piccadilly Station.
It has 137 guestrooms – including
20 suites, among which is the
largest in the city – plus The Dakota
Grill, a vibrant neighbourhood
brasserie. There's also a cocktail
bar, Champagne room, cigar
garden and waterside terrace for
al fresco dining or exclusive hire
for events of up to 80 people.
All guestrooms include rainfall
showers, full Sky TV packages and
high-speed wifi. First floor Garden
King rooms have access to a
private terrace while suites include
Signature, Executive and Deluxe
options, plus its trademark
Grand Deluxe Suite.
It is the fifth hotel from the
Dakota group which already has
properties in Leeds and Edinburgh
and two in Glasgow.
grange hotels
rebadged by
new operatoR
London’s four Grange Hotels
are now operating under new
names following their acquisition
by the Jurys Inn and Leonardo
Hotels UK & Ireland group.
The four central properties
add 1,300 rooms to the group’s
growing portfolio and now go by
the following names: Jurys Inn
London Holborn, Leonardo Royal
Hotel London St Pauls, Leonardo
Royal Hotel Tower Bridge and
Leonardo Royal Hotel London
City. All four properties will
undergo refurbishments and will
also see the Holborn hotel reopen
as the group’s first NYX Hotel by
Leonardo Hotels in the UK.
The group took over Manchester’s
Midland Hotel last year and
opened the Grand Harbour Hotel
in Southampton earlier this year.
It has also acquired sites on Adair
Street in Manchester and in
Bristol Glassfields, and has plans
to extend the existing Jurys Inn
Edinburgh and create an adjacent
131-room NYX hotel.
a brave new
world of
hospitality
A STUDY from Amadeus and
IHG is predicting sweeping
changes in the way hotel rooms
are priced and sold, with
personalisation driving the trend.
Hotels, which have traditionally
been bought in a uniform way,
and booking technology will need
to adapt as 61% of travellers state
a preference for hotels to be
priced in a way that allows them to
add-on bespoke options. This will
see the emergence of attributebased
booking, says Amadeus,
where guests select the individual
components of their room, much
like NDC will deliver for airlines.
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