Design & Furnishings

ASK THE EXPERTS

How to create a boutique hotel room on a budget

17-Oct-2016 By Sam Stokoe

Sam Stokoe, hotel interior design specialist and director at Newman Gauge, gives her top tips to creating a boutique hotel on a tight budget. 

ASK THE EXPERTS

What to consider when adding a spa to your hotel

11-Apr-2016 By Alistair Johnson

Adding a spa to your hotel business is guaranteed to get people talking about you, but it’s easy to lose sight of the target - to increase your customer offering and your revenue, says SPA Creators managing director Alistair Johnson. Here he shares five...

ASK THE EXPERTS

The name game: How to find the right name for your restaurant

10-Mar-2016 By Emma Eversham

You have secured a business loan, found the perfect site and decided on the style of food you’ll serve. Now comes the tricky part: what do you call your restaurant?   

Flood-affected Crowne Plaza Leeds re-opens after £1m refurb

01-Mar-2016 By Emma Eversham

The Crowne Plaza hotel in Leeds, damaged by flood water on Boxing Day last year, has re-opened following a £1m refurbishment. 

Thistle Pub Company III makes sites more accessible for disabled customers

29-Feb-2016 By Helen Gilbert

Scottish leisure group Thistle Pub Company III is investing £250,000 to make seven of its sites easier for customers with disabilities to access.

Blakes Hotel owner submits plans to open new hotel in Mayfair

26-Feb-2016 By Helen Gilbert

The owner of Blakes Hotel in Kensington has submitted a planning application to create a new 30-room boutique hotel close to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square. 

Hotel du Vin Stratford gains planning approval

25-Feb-2016 By Emma Eversham

The Malmaison Hotel du Vin Group has been given the green light to convert two listed buildings in Stratford-upon-Avon into a Hotel du Vin. 

Hotelympia 2016 identifies industry trends

24-Feb-2016 By Emma Eversham

The growth of free-from food, de-formalised dining and the kitchen as theatre are some of latest trends in the hospitality sector that will be explored in more detail at Hotelympia 2016. 

Mode Aparthotel by Bridgestreet coming to UK in 2017

12-Feb-2016 By Liam Garrahan

Mode Aparthotel by Bridgestreet is set to launch in the UK in 2017 having started operations to open the concept across Europe.

VisitEngland Awards for Excellence finalists revealed

03-Feb-2016 By Liam Garrahan

VisitEngland, the national tourist board, has announced the finalists for its Awards for Excellence, paying tribute to businesses and individuals who are at the top of their game with customer service and practice.

Hospitality Openings: December 2015 & January 2016

01-Feb-2016 By Liam Garrahan

BigHospitality rounds up the biggest openings from December 2015 and January 2016, including House of Ho, Grain Store, Farmstand and Hilton.

Flagship Brasserie Blanc to be refurbished

29-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

Brasserie Blanc, the 17-strong French restaurant chain led by celebrity chef Raymond Blanc, has announced that its flagship restaurant and bar on London’s Southbank will be renovated.

EasyHotel in Edinburgh sold to London-based investor and operator

29-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

The easyHotel on Edinburgh’s Princes Street has been sold to a London based investor and operator for around £1.75m.

Jay Rayner announced as headline speaker at NRB Debate

22-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

Jay Rayner, the award-winning writer, journalist, broadcaster and food critic for The Observer, has been announced as the headline speaker for the 2016 NRB Debate.

#OMGB: VisitBritain campaign to attract more international tourists

18-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

#OMGB is a new VisitBritain campaign that encourages visitors to the UK to share some of their ‘amazing moments’ on social media to encourage others from abroad to visit Britain.

NRB Top Fifty awards open for nominations

18-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

The Northern Restaurant & Bar Top Fifty awards 2016 are now open for nominations, with the ceremony set to take place at the Northern Restaurant & Bar convention in Manchester on 15 March.

Hospitality employees prefer money to ‘workplace perks’

08-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

Hospitality employees would rather earn more money than receive additional workplace perks, according to UK jobs website, CV-Library.

Surya Hotels group buys Dragonfly portfolio

07-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

Surya Hotels has this week increased its portfolio by purchasing four Dragonfly Hotels in a multi-million pound deal.

Big Hospitality Conversation set for Dundee

05-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

The Big Hospitality Conversation is to take place in Dundee later this month, with over 50 Scottish hospitality and tourism businesses expected to attend.

Edinburgh hotel purchased by ‘high net worth’ investor

04-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

Edinburgh’s Crowne Plaza, Royal Terrace, hotel has been sold to a ‘high net worth’ investor subject to a franchise agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

Splendid Hospitality Group purchases Leeds hotel

04-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

Splendid Hospitality Group has completed the purchase of the New Ellington hotel in Leeds, adding it to its 18-strong portfolio.

Seven hotel trends for 2016

04-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

Huge company mergers, robot room-service, record-breaking occupancy figures and the announcement of the National Living Wage; 2015 was a busy year for the hotel sector, but what does 2016 have in store? BigHospitality casts an eye over the coming year.

Stanneylands Hotel bought for £4m

23-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Former Prima Hotels property, Stanneylands Hotel, has been bought by the owners of The Mere Golf Resort & Spa for £4.15m.

Scottish hotel performance slips in November

23-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Scottish hotel performance showed a year-on-year decrease in November as occupancy and room rates across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen tumbled, according to the latest LJ Forecaster Scottish Intercity Report.

Nunsmere Hall purchased by ‘ambitious’ company

22-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Nunsmere Hall, a Cheshire manor house located near Northwich, has been purchased by Highwater Estates Ltd., a family-run company that also owns nearby Peckforton Castle.

Top 10 New Year's Eve price hikes: UK Cities ranked

22-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Using data collected by Trivago, BigHospitality has ranked the top 10 cities in the UK with the biggest price hikes for a hotel stay on 31 December 2015.

Service hiccups: Gold Service Scholarship finalists 2015

22-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Everyone can have a bad day every now and then, as the Gold Service Scholarship finalists have been discussing. In the latest in our Spotlight on Service campaign, we reveal to you some of the moments that left the best in the business rather red-faced.

One third of travellers anticipate greater spend in 2016

16-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

One third of travellers are planning to spend more on travel in 2016 than in previous years, according to a TripAdvisor study.

Macdonald Hotels to offer traineeship scheme

16-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Macdonald Hotels has become the latest in a line of businesses in the hospitality sector to open a trainee scheme.

St. James’s Hotels opening boutique hotel in Bath

15-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

St. James’s Hotel Group has announced that it is to begin work early in the New Year on a new 117-bedroom boutique hotel in Bath, Somerset.

Icebar London set for second London site in 2016

14-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Icebar, an ‘ice experience’ bar concept, is set to open its second site in London in 2016.

Travelodge plans three shopping centre hotels

14-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Travelodge has announced plans to open three hotels in shopping centres across the UK in a £22m deal.

Tourism Industry Council to help implement Government’s tourism plans

11-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Hilton Worldwide, along with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has announced the launched the Tourism Industry Council in the new Parliament.

The Peninsula London: Planning permission granted

10-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Joint venture developers, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland (Grosvenor) and The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels ltd. (HSH), have been granted planning permission to build The Peninsula London hotel on London’s Hyde Park Corner in central London.

‘Super-budget’ plans in pipeline for EasyHotel

09-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

The scale of opportunity for a super-budget hotel chain is ‘much greater than previously anticipated’, according to budget hotel chain, EasyHotel.

SACO: The Serviced Apartment Company announces growth plans

04-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

The Serviced Apartment Company (SACO) has announced that it is to double the size of its operation.

New Amba Hotel to focus on service and guest experience

03-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

The newly opened Amba Hotel Marble Arch is aiming to improve the heartbeat of hospitality by putting service and guest experience first.

UK serviced apartment sector set to double in size

03-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

The UK’s serviced apartment sector is set to double in size over the next two years, says a report by The Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) and Savills.

The Marine Hotel: Iconic golf hotel sold to ‘ambitious’ new owners

02-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

The Marine Hotel, located on the 18th hole of the famous Royal Troon Golf Course, where next year’s British Open Golf Championship will take place, has been sold to a joint venture between Cannock Investments and Hetherley Capital Partners.

German Gymnasium: Behind the scenes at D&D London’s latest restaurant

02-Dec-2015 By Stefan Chomka (Video by Liam Garrahan)

With the opening of the vast German Gymnasium in King’s Cross as well as a revamp of a number of its most recognisable sites, D&D London has smartened up its act.

HomeExchange: Small accommodation owners to be able to exchange rooms

01-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

HomeExchange, an online accommodation exchange service, is to allow small hospitality business owners to stay in other properties on the website for free in exchange for nights in their property.

Premier Inn launches Scottish Modern Apprenticeship Programme

01-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Budget hotel chain, Premier Inn, has launched its Scottish Modern Apprenticeship Programme in Scotland, in a partnership with ITC Academy and Skills Development Scotland.

Hospitality Openings: November 2015

30-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

BigHospitality monthly round-up of openings includes the highly anticipated German Gymnasium as well as a first solo venture for Jun Tanaka.

People on the Move in Hospitality: November 2015

24-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

BigHospitality rounds up a number of appointments across the hospitality sector including the arrival of a management team for Oxford’s first Hilton, The Robert Parker Collection and El Gato Negro.

SPOTLIGHT ON SERVICE

Hotel 41: How personalised service took the boutique hotel to the top

19-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

In the next installment of our Spotlight on Service campaign, Malcolm Hendry, general manager of London’s five-star Hotel 41, explains why front-of-house employees are integral to creating a positive guest experience.

Accelerated decline for Aberdeen hotels in October

19-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Hoteliers in Aberdeen faced further troubles in October with the Granite City’s RevPAR dropping sharply year-on-year as the declining oil industry continues to take its toll, according to the monthly LJ Forecaster Scottish Intercity Report.

Hospitality businesses support Bath Hotel and Restaurant School

16-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Sixteen hospitality businesses including the Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel, the Bath Pub Company, the Abbey Hotel and the Hilton Hotel, have signed up to support the Bath Hotel and Restaurant School in Bath, Somerset.

Budget hotel development on the increase

11-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

For the first time budget hotels account for more than half of the UK’s hotel development pipeline, with growth in the sector showing no signs of slowing down, according to a report by HVS, AlixPartners and AM:PM.

Hotel 41 tops Trivago’s hotel rankings

09-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Hotel search website Trivago has announced its top hotels in the UK with London’s Hotel  41 winning is inaugural Top Hotel Award.

Gisborough Hall undergoes £400k renovation project

29-Oct-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Gisborough Hall hotel has recently undergone a £400k renovation project which has seen it refurbish 39 of its bedrooms.