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HOTEL OPENINGS
Northern
Powerhouse
Developments
opens new Welsh
hotel
West Yorkshire-based hotel group,
Northern Powerhouse Developments
(NPD), has announced the opening of
its latest property, Caer Rhun Hall, in
North Wales.
The hotel, which is set in 20 acres
of parkland and gardens, is the latest
addition to the company’s portfolio
of 18 properties either open or in
development.
The Grade-II listed building was
acquired two years ago and has
undergone an extensive, multi-million
pound refurbishment, creating 32
bedrooms in exclusive surroundings.
The hotel will add further rooms in
the grounds, growing to 80 by the
end of 2019.
Richard Lewis, CEO NPD Hotels,
said: “Caer Rhun Hall is a magnificent
property in a wonderful location in the
heart of the Conwy Valley, bordering
Snowdonia National Park. Our
sympathetic refurbishment has created
a venue which will initially operate as
luxury accommodation with breakfast,
and which will also cater for weddings
and events.
“In the next 18 months we will add a
restaurant and spa as we develop Caer
Rhun into a Manor House with boutique
feel, destination hotel and spa.”
There’s a big difference
between occasionally sharing
your spare room and running
a chain hotel, and it is utterly
untrue to say hosts using
Airbnb aren’t subject to rules
and regulations
Airbnb spokesperson
September 2018
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AIRBNB HOTELS
Airbnb has slammed a proposal for
exclusion zones in Bristol, calling it a
“shameless attempt by a hotel group”
to protect its profits and “smear hosts
who spread tourism benefits”.
According to the group last year
homesharing put nearly £64m in the
“pockets of families” in the South West
and boosted the local economy by almost
£359m a day, and said Airbnb is only
“helping to grow and diversify tourism”.
The head of the Bristol Hoteliers
Association (BHA) recently called for
city leaders to investigate short-term
lets on platforms like Airbnb “as a
matter of urgency” and has called for
‘exclusion zones’.
While other major cities across the
world have implemented strict rules on
booking sites such as Airbnb, Imran
Ali, chairman of the BHA, said Bristol
has been to slow to address regulation
and policing.
The secretary-general of the UN
World Tourism Organisation said: “The
reality is that [Airbnb] is not taking
away from your clientele, they are
adding to your clientele. This is one of
the advantages of technology. Anyone
who looks at this activity as taking
away from others, they are mistaken.
“It is bringing in new waves of
travellers that have not been seen
before. You need to come to terms with
it, you can’t just fight it.”
A spokesperson for Airbnb added:
“There’s a big difference between
occasionally sharing your spare room
and running a chain hotel, and it
is utterly untrue to say hosts using
Airbnb aren’t subject to rules and
regulations. Rules and regulations are
proportionate to activity levels - not
whether the accommodation is listed
on Airbnb or not.” Birmingham-based housebuilder
Elevate Property Group is building
a 120-room hotel as part of a new
development of 216 apartments named
Victoria Point on Victoria Road, Ashford.
The £55m project will see the hotel
built directly opposite the Ashford
International Railway station. The
project will additionally see a selection
of one, two and three-bedroom
apartments with prices currently
ranging from £142,500 to £340,000.
Leicester construction company
J A Ball has been appointed main
contractor on the site and completion is
scheduled for spring 2020.
Steve Dodd, managing director of
Elevate, said: “We were offered the
opportunity to acquire this empty site
directly opposite Ashford International
railway station in a prime area of
Kent. We recognised the tremendous
potential with significant investment
already made in the town and an
ongoing commitment to other projects.
“Not only is Victoria Way just 36
minutes from London’s St Pancras
International Station by rail, it also
connects via HS1 to Lille in under an
hour, Brussels in 1 hour 39 minutes and
Paris and Brussels in under two hours
via the high speed Eurostar services.”
He added: “We are mindful that
the ‘within one hour to London’ factor
is a strong selling point, but such
good access to Europe and the rest
of the south east of England is also
a tremendous plus. Ashford is an
area that has long been marked for
expansion and we are pleased to
be able to contribute to the further
economic growth of the town.”
Airbnb
slams Bristol
‘exclusions’ zone
proposal
Elevate Property
Group to develop
120-room hotel
as part of £55m
apartment
scheme project
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