Manchester’s dual-branded Crowne Plaza/Staybridge Suites hotel will help to redefine the way hotel groups provide UK hospitality.
The era of the co-branded hotel in Britain is gathering pace, according to industry experts, just months ahead of the opening of the ‘double-decker’ hotel on Oxford Road, Manchester, in early 2018.
Now other hotel groups are surging ahead with plans to open dual-branded hotels at sites across Britain too.
Cycas Hospitality, the hotel group that will manage the Manchester ‘double-decker’, is one of the biggest developers of dual-branded hotels and the increasingly popular trend of suite accommodation combined on one site with traditional hotel accommodation. The group will see construction start soon on a Residence Inn/ Moxy hotels dual-branded hotel in Slough, together with the same brands opening early next year in Amsterdam and The Hague as well as the Crowne Plaza/Staybridge Suites in Manchester.
It’s no wonder there is excitement for the growing co-branded sector, especially where apartments and suites are part of the mix – figures for the first half of 2017 released by the Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) show that RevPAR was up 5.5 per cent nationally and 15.5 per cent in London. The average daily rate (ADR) increased 3.8 per cent to £139.08 in the whole of the UK and 10.3 per cent to £185.58 in London.
The capital recorded the highest occupancy at 81.5 per cent, a 4.8 per cent increase on last year, although regional UK reported a 1.4 per cent decline to 76.9 per cent occupancy but with a 1.1 per cent increase in ADR to £90.27.
The news comes on the back of a new Visit Britain report, which shows despite a decline in business visitors during the first five months of the year – down 2 per cent to 3.7 million – leisure visits to the UK jumped by 20 per cent to 5.9 million.
Containing 328-rooms Manchester’s dual-branded Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites – dubbed the ‘double-decker’ hotel because one brand sits on top of the other on the site – is located on Corridor Manchester and will be unveiled to the public in early 2018.
The 19-storey building, just off Manchester’s bustling Oxford Road and within walking distance of the city centre, will boast a 212-room Crowne Plaza and a 116-room Staybridge Suites.
Crowne Plaza, which will feature a 120-cover upscale restaurant, seven meeting rooms catering for over 200 delegates and a gym, is spread over 11-storeys from the ground up.
Whereas extended stay brand Staybridge Suites – which is opening in Manchester for the first time – is located on the upper eight floors and will offer a warm, social and home-like environment through a mix of studio and one-bedroom suites.
Both brands are part of the IHG portfolio.
Andrew Fletcher is General Manager of the dual-branded hotel, which is the first of its kind in the north of England and sits opposite Alliance Manchester Business School and The Royal Northern College of Music.
Andrew said Manchester is following in the footsteps of great cities across the globe that have incorporated dual-branded hotels in their offer.
“The Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites dual-branded hotel will open under one roof in Manchester early next year,” said Andrew, who has 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry.
“The dual-brand concept is extremely exciting as it isn’t something that has been offered to people staying in Manchester before. And it certainly seems to be a trend that is catching on here in the UK as well as across Europe after huge successes in America.
“Being located just off Oxford Road, within Corridor Manchester and next to the Alliance Manchester Business School on the University of Manchester campus, gives us tremendous confidence in our offer.
“We are very different to any other hotel in the city region. What we have is two brands that very much complement each other and ultimately give people different options to what they have had before.”
The dual-branded 328-room hotel forms part of the University of Manchester’s Campus Masterplan, which includes the wider redevelopment of Alliance Manchester Business School. It will also adjoin its new two-storey Executive Education Centre, which will provide a new home for the business school’s corporate leadership and management programmes.
Both Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites sit within Corridor Manchester, which is home to 70,000 students and boasts a workforce of 60,000 people – with 14,000 new jobs planned.
The 116 rooms in Staybridge Suites all have fully equipped kitchens and great views of the city. Guests also have access to a terrace on the 18th floor, a meeting room, fitness room, laundry facilities and complimentary hot and cold buffet breakfast in a hub kitchen.
The 120-cover upscale restaurant in the 212-room Crowne Plaza hasn’t been named yet, but Staybridge Suites guests will be able to access the restaurant and bar.
