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A nationwide collection of hotels has announced a revenue increase of 27% for the year ended 31st December 2011, and is forecasting that turnover will hit £20 million this year.
Recommended Hotels is the leading hotel sales and marketing specialist in the UK working with independent hotels to secure bookings from Online Travel Agents (OTA’s) such as Laterooms, Booking.com, Lastminute.com and Expedia. Its 200 members are independent hotels and properties from small groups, including famous names and award-winning properties such as Barnsdale Lodge (Rutland), Bodysgallen Hall (North Wales), the Cottage in the Wood (Malvern), The Coniston Hotel (Yorkshire Dales), Loch Melfort (Oban), Patshull Park (Wolverhampton), the Vineyard at Stockcross, the Tide’s Reach (Salcombe) and Washingborough Hall (Lincoln).
"Online Travel Agents such as Expedia, Lastminute.com, Bookings.com and Laterooms are constantly increasing their share of the hotel bookings marketplace, and it is important that hotels, especially independents, work to secure their share of this market" says Martin Philips, Recommended Hotels’ founder and MD. "I’m very proud that in the face of such a serious recession, we have actually increased business to our members by 27%, which represents £4 million of extra business and leisure bookings for them, and I’m actually forecasting another amazing year ahead, although it will be a year of peaks and troughs".
Through the remainder of 2012, Martin Philips sees numerous opportunities for his hotels across the UK. His team have already noticed increased demand at the beginning of this year in many locations:
– London – due to the Olympics, not just for central London, but also for hotels with easy transport links into the city, such as the Comfort Hotel in Enfield, Beales Hotel in Hatfield and the Grim’s Dyke in Harrow
– The Weymouth area – also for the Olympics, where the town is expected to be full, and so neighbouring hotels like the Wessex Royal and the George Albert in Dorchester are already beginning to take up the slack
– Dartmoor – with the film "War Horse", which used the national park as a main location, tipped to do well in the Oscars, and Bovey Castle expected to be popular with "set jetters" from the UK and abroad as a result
– Essex – "the only way to stay" for TOWIE fans, Martin Philips claims, is at the new Lifehouse Spa, Hotel and Gardens, built in listed gardens near to Frinton-on-Sea
– Berkshire – as home to Highclere Castle (ITV’s "Downton Abbey"), hotels like The Vineyard at Stockcross and its sister hotel Donnington Valley, are proving popular, especially with overseas tourists
– Manchester – with the growth of "Media City", hotels like the Lennox Lea Hotel in the surburbs of Manchester, at Sale, make for an inexpensive base
– Watford/Leavesden – with the opening this Spring of "The Making of Harry Potter", sister properties The Bedford Arms at Rickmansworth and Boxmoor Lodge in Hemel Hempstead are both well placed for visits to this new attraction
– Stratford-upon-Avon – the nearby Glebe Hotel at Barford is an ideal base for the events of this year’s World Shakespeare Festival, which takes place between April and November
– York – this year the City of York celebrates 800 years of its Charter, and with the world-famous Mystery Plays taking place, quality hotels in the area such as The Worsley Arms at nearby Hovingham are expected to be busy
– The Coast of Wales – with the opening of the new All Wales Coastal Path, hotels from Bodysgallen Hall (National Trust) near Llandudno in the north, to Gwesty’r Emlyn Hotel in the south are proving to be in demand with groups of walkers.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
