Focus Hotels is delighted to announce the opening of the DoubleTree by Hilton London Heathrow Airport, formerly known as the Ramada Hotel Heathrow, following the successful conclusion of a franchise license agreement with the subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide. Focus Hotels rescued the hotel, along with sister property the Ramada Hotel Bristol, from administration in October 2011 – saving a total of 170 jobs in the process. In the space of just nine months under Focus Hotels’ management, the Ramada Heathrow Hotel saw total revenues for the first six months of 2012 rise 29 per cent year on year. Having transformed the hotel’s performance, Focus Hotels has now secured its future by completing this franchise deal with one of the world’s biggest hotel brands. Focus Hotels’ CEO, Peter Cashman said:
“This exceptional turnaround is a testimony to Focus Hotels’ expertise and management style. Although it had not been performing to expectation since opening three years ago, there has been no special investment in the property since we took over its management. We simply repositioned the hotel to make it more competitive in the Heathrow Airport market; established a new on-site sales and yield team, led by locally-recruited yield and sales managers; and then provided ongoing close support and guidance to the hotel management team, who were then quickly able to transform the property’s performance.”
This latest success story follows hot on the heels of last year’s major franchise deal with Accor, for 10 Focus Hotels-managed properties. According to CEO Peter Cashman, Focus Hotels continues to actively seek other opportunities to bring its hugely successful management style to underperforming properties.
