Best Western to invest £98m in UK hotels over next two years

Best Western Brook Hotel, Norwich
1000 621 Katy Phillips
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Brand committed to improving guest experiences in member hotels.

Best Western Great Britain says it has invested of £214m across its member hotels since 2015, which it claims reflects its ongoing confidence in the market despite concerns around Brexit.

With 251 independently owned and managed hotels under the Best Western brand, the figure equates to an estimated £855,000 per property between 2015 and 2019.

In addition, Best Western has confirmed it will invest a further £70m across in the UK during 2017, with £28m currently planned for 2019.

Best Western says that when asked about the impact of Brexit it found that 98.8% of its members were not concerned and continued to invest in improving their properties, showing no signs of cautiousness. 

North of England Investment

Some of the most significant investments within the Best Western portfolio have been to properties in the North of England and Scotland, including over £6m at Castle Green Hotel in Kendal, BW Premier Collection; an estimated £8m at Ten Hill Place, BW Premier Collection in Edinburgh; and £3.5m at the Best Western Dundee Invercarse Hotel, Dundee.

Rob Paterson, Chief Executive of Best Western Great Britain, said: “The figures are a strong signal to guests and the industry that Best Western continues to invest for the future and change for the better. We are committed to improving guest experiences in our member hotels and the multi-million pound investments being made are increasing NPS scores, raising brand standards and guest expectations. In the last 18 months we have seen a significant pipeline of hotels approved or activated, with 50% of applicants this year for our new brands.

“What is encouraging for guests and investors is that the planned level of investment for 2019 remains high and will increase further. We are proud to champion independent hotels in Great Britain and have plans to make our membership model more attractive, accelerating our growth for guests in the next few years.”

Katy Phillips / 10.04.2018

Katy has been with Hotel Designs since the beginning, way back in 2015 when Forum Events & Media Group acquired the brand. During this time, she has fostered many meaningful relationships with clients from across the hospitality spectrum, as well as playing a pivotal role in the launch of The Brit List Awards, Hotel Designs MEET UPs, client-led roundtables and panel talks, brand and website redesigns, HD Wellness Sets, DESIGN POD podcast, Hotel Designs LIVE panel talk series, and more. Katy is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to help grow the Hotel Designs brand even further.

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Alongside her role at SPACE, Jess has built a creative career spanning the arts, culture, design and travel sectors. Prior to joining the magazine, she spent more than a decade in the commercial art industry, in artist liaison, gallery management, and curating collections for the hospitality sector across hotels and cruise ships. During this time, she also worked on freelance projects as a writer, photographer, and creative content producer.
 
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Work highlights: Katy has been with Hotel Designs since the beginning, way back in 2015 when Forum Events & Media Group acquired the brand.

During this time, she has fostered many meaningful relationships with clients from across the hospitality spectrum, as well as playing a pivotal role in the launch of The Brit List Awards, Hotel Designs MEET UPs, client-led roundtables and panel talks, brand and website redesigns, HD Wellness Sets, DESIGN POD podcast, Hotel Designs LIVE panel talk series, Accessible Design Talks and more. Katy is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to help grow the Hotel Designs brand even further.
 
Most recently Katy has stepped in to the role of Publisher at SPACE magazine, the printed bi-monthly publication focused on hotel design, architecture, and development.

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