THISTLEHotels is urging travel agents to search for its hotels on the global distribution systems under their new names following a major rebranding programme.
The 60-strong UK group will continue to list the old names alongside the new over the next six months in order to help agents make the transition.
Until September, the Thistle Manchester, formerly The Portland, will appear in the GDSsas the Thistle Manchester Portland. After that date the Portland name will be dropped completely.
A list of all the name changes can be found on the GDSs under the code TI.
Meanwhile, new signage has been erected at the Thistle Brighton and the Thistle Kensington Gardens and will be in place at a further 20 hotels by the end of March. The rebranding will be completed by the end of 1999.
It is designed to emphasise the hotels’ locations and reinforce the four-star Thistle brand.
Chief executive Ian Burke said:”We want guests to be able to easily identify a Thistle hotel, and to know that the quality of product and services they experience at one hotel will be the same at any other hotel in the group.”
n Thistle Hotels has appointed Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan and Rupert Morley as non-executive directors. They replace Rodney Price and Paul Collins, who have resigned from the board of Thistle’s parent Brierley Investments.
Chief operating officer Andrew Bould has also been appointed to the board.