| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 08/10/01 |
| Author: | Page Number: 6 |
| Copyright: Other |
Hotel chain set to axe 250 UK jobs
HILTON will make 250 redundancies across its UK hotel workforce as a direct result of the US crisis.
The hotel chain has identified 700 jobs out of its 16,000 in the UK which it could lose, mostly through natural wastage, such as retirement.
With occupancy rates at the group’s London hotels down by 20% in September compared to last year, Hilton has also put a freeze on its £150 million capital spending plans.
Hilton UK and Ireland vice-president marketing Hugh Taylor said the chain had brought forward advertising and marketing plans to attract the domestic market because of a slump in business from the US.
“In this sort of difficult situation the importance of sales and marketing comes to the fore. We have redirected things we were going to do into more tactical activities and this autumn we have decided the market needs a larger voice.”
Hilton had planned to advertise its short breaks at the end of the year, but instead began advertising in national newspapers at the weekend.
Hilton said it would also be launching a theatre-breaks product in the next few weeks instead of next year in a bid to capture sales at this critical time.