MONTH IN REVIEW
MONTH IN REVIEW
www.hotelowner.co.uk
NEW OPENING
London’s ‘grandest
hotel’ to launch in
Hyde Park
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FROM THE WEBSITE
1. 40,000 hotel bookings to be lost as
European Medicines Agency relocates
Royal Lancaster London has unveiled
its brand new design following an
£80m renovation.
With the opening of its new entrance,
the mid-century property will reinstate
its original name ‘Royal Lancaster
London’. The concept and design was
created by London-based Studio Proof.
The entire frontage of the hotel has
been remodelled and the exterior
architecture now features an eight
metre high glazed façade at the
opening of the reception. The lobby
features a palatial sweeping staircase
made of 300 square meters of white
Carrara marble.
The first stage of the refurbishment
commenced in 2015 with the redesign
of Nipa Thai, the hotel’s restaurant. The
grand opening is now taking place as
the majority of the hotel is completely
renovated.
Royal Lancaster London will be
finalised in May 2018 following a soft
re-design of The Lounge Bar and The
Park Room on the first floor.
Sally Beck, general manager,
said: “The hotel has had a rich and
celebrated past, having opened as one
of the most chic hotels in London in
1967. 50 years later, Royal Lancaster
London will reopen in 2017 to once
again be one of the most stylish hotels
in the capital.
“Our Thai owner, Khun Jatuporn
Sihanatkathakul has been directly
involved in the new design which
exudes mid-century glamour and
understated elegance synonymous
with London. We are looking forward to
the next 50 years.”
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choice and give disabled consumers
more assurance that what is described
will be suitable.
Revitalise sees the acquisition as
evidence that the travel industry as a
whole is taking the needs of disabled
holidaymakers more seriously, an
issue on which the charity has
consistently campaigned.
GOVERNMENT
2. Tripadvisor to mark hotels where
sexual assaults have been reported
3. London hotels report lowest
October occupancy levels since 2006
TECHNOLOGY
Airbnb’s
Accomable
acquisition
signals ‘industry
shift’, says
disability charity
Disability charity Revitalise has
predicted that Airbnb’s recent
acquisition of Accomable will lead to
an “industry shift in attitudes” towards
disabled travellers and the revenue
they contribute in the tourism sector.
The homesharing platform company
recently bought the travel startup,
which is valued at $31m (£23.3m), for
an undisclosed sum. Accomable is a
platform designed to help disabled
travellers find accessible hotels,
vacation rentals and apartments.
By 2020, as much as 25% of tourism
spending in Europe is expected to come
from people with accessibility needs,
according to the European Commission.
With the market valued at £12bn a
year in the UK alone, Revitalise believes
that this move will result in greater
HBAA requests
financial support
and tourism tax
reduction ahead
of autumn budget
The Hotel Booking Agents Association
(HBAA) has asked the government for
more financial support to attract young
people to the sector and a reduction in
tourism tax ahead of the chancellor’s
autumn budget statement.
Louise Goalen, HBAA chair,
addressed the UK’s VAT rate on hotel
accommodations, noting that it was
higher than any other country in
Europe. She went on to suggest that a
reduction would be a “positive boost to
our competitiveness” and said it could
“help stimulate both inbound events
activity and incentivise UK based
organisations to hold their events here”.
Goalen said: “This industry really
needs financial incentives or assistance
for young people to train and to
encourage talent in the hospitality and
events sector, and the HBAA hopes
that the chancellor will address this.
“As the industry is growing and, at
the same time, the number of workers
coming into the UK sector from the EU
is declining, we need to attract more
young people to see the sector as a
good career opportunity. Optimising
the living wage and providing funds to
encourage 16 to 19 year olds to train in
the sector would be valuable initiatives
to help to address this significant issue.
December 2017