Do your clients constantly complain about the size of their hotel bills? Are they fed up with losing themselves in a maze of identical corridors? Are they tired of the impersonal service given by some of the big-name chains?
If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, the solution is simple – book them into one of the growing number of townhouse properties that cater for travellers in search of comfort, friendly service and character.
“At the end of the ’80s, there was growing resentment to the rack rates of many of London’s grand hotels and chains,” said Nigel Massey, managing director of Massey Partnership Limited, an agency specialising in marketing town house hotels.
Businessman David Naylor-Leyland decided there was a gap in the market for smaller, more intimate properties which cost half the price, had a good location, but fewer frills.
The result was The Egerton House Hotel, which opened in 1990 with 31 rooms, and shortly afterwards The Franklin Hotel, which now has a reputation as being the most romantic townhouse hotel in the city.
Rack rates cost around 30% less than the average five-star hotel – made possible by dispensing with costly overheads such as barmen, doormen and concierges.
Restaurants were also deemed unnecessary as most townhouse hotels were in areas such as Knightsbridge and Chelsea which are packed with fashionable eateries.
Other entrepreneurs soon followed including Tim Kemp who opened The Pelham Hotel, Dorset Square and Covent Garden properties; Henry Togna with 22 Jermyn Street; and Bijan Daneshmand who launched The Leonard.
These properties pride themselves on personal service. At 22 Jermyn St, the owner Henry Togna even goes jogging with guests around Hyde Park.
Occupancy rates for these properties are relatively high – at around 85% – with mainly business travellers during the week and leisure at weekends.
Not surprisingly the concept has now spread to other cities in the UK, such as Bristol, Oxford, Cheltnam and Edinburgh. Examples include the Old Parsonage Hotel, Oxford; Hotel Du Vin, Bristol; and 42 The Calls in Leeds.
In April, 10 Manchester Street in London’s W1 will open its doors and the city’s first all-inclusive town house, No 41 Buckingham Palace Road, is due to open next month. “The winning concept is simple,” said Massey. “Town houses do away with often unnecessary and costly frills and put the savings into the operation and service of the hotel.”