Tag: hotel update

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Principal Edinburgh George Street rejoins InterContinental

The Principal Edinburgh George Street hotel has rejoined the InterContinental brand after 14 years.

The 240-bedroom hotel operated as an InterContinental property until 2005, when it was sold to what was then Principal Hayley Group and became the George hotel. It was then renamed the Principal Edinburgh George Street following the launch of the Principal brand in 2016.

After the sale of the Principal group to French-group Covivio and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) last year and “significant renovations”, it is being rebranded once more as the InterContinental Edinburgh – The George.

The property is an integration of a number of Georgian townhouses that were originally built in the 1780s.

Karan Khanna, managing director, UK & Ireland, IHG, said: “We are excited to grow our luxury presence in Scotland as we continue the integration of the Principal portfolio. Edinburgh is a key city in our home market so it’s great to reintroduce our flagship brand, InterContinental, to the city. I am confident its arrival will receive a warm welcome and the team will deliver a great service to guests.”

Tom Rowntree, vice president, global luxury brands, IHG, said: “InterContinental Edinburgh – The George is a fabulous addition to the brand, marking the return of InterContinental to Edinburgh.  We look forward to helping our guests unlock the heritage of this hotel and the enchanting city of Edinburgh.”

InterContinental Edinburgh – The George is the third InterContinental in the UK, joining InterContinental London – Park Lane and InterContinental London – The O2. IHG has 349 hotels operating under eight brands in the UK, with a further 26 in the pipeline.

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2.4% increase for UK Hotels in November

UK hotels saw an increase in both room occupancy and average room rates in November.

Occupancy grew by 0.6 per cent to 79.1 per cent, while there was a 2.4 per cent increase in room rate to £120.03 for the month, according to the latest data tracking full-service hotels from HotStats.

Hotels in the UK have fought back to profitability following a 4.9 per cent year-on-year decline recorded in Q1 2018. The growth in November was led by increases across all revenue centres, including rooms (3.1 per cent), food and beverage (3 per cent) and conference and banqueting (3.2 per cent).

“Whilst other other investment sectors, particularly retail, appeared to wobble ahead of the Christmas break and the unknowns of 2019, the UK hotel market is remaining resilient. The stronger performance in the second half of 2018 means hotel owners and operators in the UK are all set for another year of profit growth following the 5.1 per cent increase in 2017.”

Michael Grove, director of intelligence and customer solutions, EMEA, HotStats

In line with growth across the UK, properties in the challenging Aberdeen market recorded a slight 0.8 per cent increase in profit per room in November.

Hotels in the city saw a 2.8 per cent increase in room occupancy, which grew to 72.5 per cent, as volume in the city maintains its recovery. This was accompanied by a 7.3 per cent drop in room rates to £59.04.

The increase in volume in November helped to drive ancillary revenues, with a 48.7 per cent increase in conference and banqueting.

“It has been a very tough few years of trading for hotels in Aberdeen due to the fall out of demand, as well as increases in supply, illustrated by the poor rate performance this month, which was ahead of only August, However, the fact that hoteliers have managed to generate a profit increase from a fairly substantial RevPAR decline is highly commendable.”

In contrast, properties at the other end of the UK in Bournemouth saw an 8.1 per cent increase in achieved average room rate to £79.72.

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Good Hotel London – 2 years of doing good

Two years ago, the unique floating platform that is Good Hotel was pulled across the North Sea from Amsterdam to find its new home at the historic Royal Victoria docks in East London. Good Hotel London is good by name, and good by nature – its inspirational social business model means that  Good Hotel not only donates all of profits to charitable causes, but it also hosts its own Good Training programme.

Good Hotel London works with local authority Newham Workplace to identify people in the local area that are in need of skills and training. It offers these people, regardless of background, a fresh start. Once accepted onto the programme, they are paid to train with Good Hotel for three months, gaining skills in hospitality and catering, alongside self-confidence and interpersonal skills. After completion, Good Group works hard to place them in permanent employment. So far, Good Hotel London has seen 68 people taking part in the Good Training programme in London, with almost 75% going on into further employment.

As for charitable donations, in its first year, Good Hotel donated $80,000, and is now structurally working towards being able to donate $500,000 per year to its Guatemalan NGO partner, Ninos de Guatemala. Ninos de Guatemala is building schools and directly facilitating the education of 500+ students in some of the poorest rural communities in Guatemala. Good Hotel is constantly seeking good partnerships, in 2018 Good Hotel London became home to London’s first Seabin – a floating rubbish bin designed to be placed at marinas, docks and commercial ports as a partial solution to the current global littering problem. Good Hotel always tries, where possible, to source locally and sustainably.

Whether it’s your next breakfast, lunch or dinner, event, or hotel stay – staying with Good Hotel means that you directly help in their efforts to rebuild communities in need, and give disadvantaged people new opportunities to succeed. Stay Good, do Good.