MONTH IN REVIEW
MONTH IN REVIEW
www.hotelowner.co.uk
START: THE MONTH’S NEWS BEGAN HERE
HOTEL BRANDS
OYO Hotels
makes UK debut
with 50 hotels
OYO Hotels and Homes, the sixth
largest hotel chain in the world, expects
to open its 50th hotel in the UK by the
end of April 2019.
Since launching in the UK in October
2018, OYO has opened 30 hotels across
the UK - including properties in London,
Birmingham, Manchester, Blackpool
and Edinburgh - and built a team of
over 100 employees working in business
development, operations, transformation,
marketing and other functions.
The business, which is backed by
investors including Softbank, Airbnb,
Sequoia and Lightspeed, plans to
invest £40m in the UK during 2019.
OYO Hotels works with independent
hotels to “improve their performance
and enhance the customer experience”.
Through its proprietary technology,
revenue management capabilities
and operational expertise, OYO seeks
to improve financial returns for hotel
owners whilst ensuring guests “have
a great experience during each and
every stay”.
Additionally, OYO works with
owners to transform the property
itself, often co-investing to improve
infrastructure, standards and the look
and feel of the hotel.
Since being founded in India in 2013
by 25-year-old entrepreneur Ritesh
Agarwal, OYO has become the world’s
fastest growing hotel chain with a
network of over 18,000 franchised and
leased hotels across 500 cities and 10
countries, including India and China.
Its launch in the UK, the first market
outside of Asia, marks a major milestone
for the company’s international growth.
Jeremy Sanders, entrepreneur and co-
founder of the restaurant chain, Coco di
Mama, was appointed late last year to
lead the business in the UK.
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HOTELS
Brewdog to open
first UK craft
beer hotel in
London
Craft beer company Brewdog has
announced plans to open its first UK
craft beer hotel in London, following a
“successful”opening in Ohio, America.
The group is now searching for a
location that it can convert into the
Doghouse London, and said the hotel
will be “packed with so many cool beer-
related features [guests] will never
want to leave”.
Like its Ohio counterpart, the
property will have fresh craft beer
guests can pour for themselves in each
room, in addition to its “iconic” shower-
beer fridges. It added that it “may even
fit a Punk IPA Jacuzzi as well”.
The group opened its previous craft
beer hotel in America last summer,
adjacent to its brewery.
A statement by the Brewdog read:
“The DogHouse London will be nothing
short of the ultimate hotel for craft beer
geeks. As such it will have its own craft
beer museum like our hotel in Columbus
where you’ll be able to check out the
exhibits before you check out.
“Beer knowledge is power. Suitably
armed, you can then head to some (or
all) of our 12 London BrewDog Bars
and continue your beery vacation.”
We are extremely excited
to have launched in the UK,
and are very encouraged
by our progress so far
Jeremy Sanders,
head of OYO Hotels and Homes UK
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STAT OF THE MONTH
£83m
That’s how much the Crowne Plaza
London Kensington hotel was sold
for. It was acquired by a Singaporean
consortium, led by Heeton Holdings,
together with KSH Holdings Ltd and
Ho Lee Group Pte Ltd
HOTEL BRANDS
The Chace Hotel
Coventry to
rebrand as a
Laura Ashley
Hotel
Laura Ashley Hotels has announced it is
expanding its portfolio with the addition
of The Chace Hotel, in Coventry.
The 66-bedroom hotel is undergoing
a “major” refurbishment to bring it in line
with Laura Ashley’s “brand standards”,
and the new interiors will showcase the
Laura Ashley Home range.
The portfolio, which also includes
The Belsfield Hotel, Windermere, and
is soon to include Burnham Beeches
Hotel in Buckinghamshire, aims to offer
guests an “authentic home from home
experience” against the backdrop of the
Laura Ashley Home range.
Chris Bowron, hotel manager of The
Chace Hotel, said: “We’re delighted
that The Chace Hotel will be joining the
Laura Ashley Hotel portfolio.
“A thorough refurbishment is
underway using the Laura Ashley
Home collection’s beautiful range of
décor, fabrics and soft furnishings. It is
an exciting time for the hotel, and we
are excited to offer our guests a whole
new experience.”
May 2019