Remember all those years I told you about Travelodge and how it was a hotel chain owned by the Diageo group?
Travelodge’s average room rates now average about £64 per night. Translation:
Get there easy. Travelodge, the hotel chain owned by Diageo, has opened 15 new hotels in London over the past two years. They also plan to open four more hotels by Christmas. Diageo is investing £500 million into the hotel chain, including plans to open six hotels in central London by the end of the year.
So, to recap: London is home to 115 of Travelodge’s 265 hotels, and the Diageo company owns 100.
I suspect Diageo has brought on more staff because even hotel chains are working to offset the effects of Brexit.
It’s possible to take a global view of hospitality trends. The Boston Consulting Group notes the downturn in travel in some southern European countries and is offset by growth in China. The firm says the best hotel operators have revenue per available room (RevPAR) greater than 4, increasing the likelihood of higher returns on investment.
The firm also said hoteliers have to strike a balance between lower loyalty spending and the high profit margins in business travel.
Hoteliers should consider offering “moonlighting” services, it said. (Some do.) The firm also said operators must offer in-cab Internet, properly trained front-desk staff and better technology to attract an increasingly younger traveler.
Last year, Capital Hotels said it was investing $80 million into a new project in Clarksville, Kentucky. The company expects to complete the work in February. It expects to generate revenue growth of 13 percent this year and 6 percent in 2018.
The hotel will be built on a 50-acre site in Pleasant Plains, about 10 miles west of downtown Louisville, across from FLEXTRIP, a distribution facility for distribution and servicing of stores.
Travelodge: 121 E. Market St., Birmingham. 830-617-2111. Rooms cost from £27.
Thetixnews: 8543 Elwood Rd., Clarksville. 812-791-6100. Rooms cost from £30.
Wurttensheater: 700 New Market St., Clarksville. 812-359-3774. Rooms cost from £32.
Re:Compete: 12720 Bon Chon Rd., Clarksville. 812-362-8232. Rooms cost from £32.
Caltex: 10901 Main St., College Station. 830-872-4161. Rooms cost from £33.