Independent hotels best placed to face up to industry challenges
Over the last decade 40,000 hotel rooms in independent hotels in the UK have closed, shrinking the independent hotel sector's share of the accommodation market by seven per cent.
In his report - UK Independent Hotels 2016 - produced for this year's Independent Hotel Show (18-19 October), Gold shows how independents have been challenged by the growth of hotel brands, the increasing presence of online travel agencies (OTAs), rising payroll costs and difficulty gaining investment.
However, Gold defines five critical differentiating factors for today’s independent hotel - individuality, locality, freedom, personality and innovation, - which he believes are 'invaluable for the country's independent hoteliers' and proves that, despite its challenges the independent hotel sector is well-placed to face them.
He writes: “The freedom an independent hotel gives, allows for assets to be created to drive a far better return on investment and bottom line than we would be able to achieve with chain hotels.
“Not only can an independent hotel differentiate in its concept and service, but we use guerrilla techniques in terms of revenue management, distribution and marketing strategies to drive financial results."
With its differentiating factors Gold believes that the independent hotel sector has the chance to not only survive but thrive: “I foresee that in the next 5 to 10 years we will see many more independent hotels being developed than ever before.”
Read BigHospitality editor Emma Eversham's thoughts on Melvin Gold's Report on the Independent Hotel Sector on The Independent Hotel Show's website.
The Independent Hotel Show runs on 18 and 19 October at Olympia in London. Register to attend here.
