The new look Holiday Inn Express Café Bar and Lounge opened its doors on 27th July 2015 to rave reviews...
...But how has Holiday Inn Express London - Park Royal benefitted, What are the key learnings and where do we go from here...
The Acton Room is now the only meeting space that is actively marketed at Holiday Inn Express London - Park Royal. Year to date the hotel has seen a 17% increase in bookings and the sentiment is positive:
thank you holiday inn express LONDON - PARK ROYAL! WE REALLY LOVED THE SPACE AND THE FUNKY / FUNCTIONAL DESIGN. WE WILL DEFINATELY RETURN :) - antidotestreet.com
Food has been A success! Year to date total revenue on food is £17435.00 - this is verses total sales in the prior year of £11333.00 which, incidentally, was paid directly to the previous room service partner and the hotel was paid a 5% commission from these revenues - this is now a tangible revenue stream for the hotel .
All Day Dining has seen some tweaks during the trial including a reduction in the operating hours - currently there are 4 items available 'All Day' and the core menu is available from 5pm to 9pm
Food & Beverage (and Breakfast) are indexing at around 70% in Revinate for the period of the trial to dat (27/07 - 17/03) - Comparatively, Crowne Plaza Ealing is indexing at 53% and 51% for F&B and Breakfast respectively.
The breakfast KPI, with the improved breakfast is £1.61 year to date verses IHG's projection of £1.60. March 2015 year to date KPI for breakfast was £1.55 - the YTD target was £1.40
The Labour implication is an interesting case study. Year to date budget for salaries is 16.9% of total revenue and the hotel is trending at 16.9% exactly, however, on the F&B payroll cost line the budget has been overspent by £4.6k - 38% more than budget. F&B payroll is the cost of breakfast waitresses. When the hotel is full extra support must be deployed - delivering the improved breakfast offering is having an effect on the margin for Food and Beverage salaries - Conversely, labour costs on front desk team members, who are responsible for ADD, is unaffected and this payroll cost is on budget. Hotel still needs to align a stable staffing model for days that are busier (Tuesday, Wednesdays and Saturdays) as it is not possible for 2 shift members to deliver a best in class food offering as well as manage together with their shift.
However, since the beginning of the year, the hotel has seen unprecedented RevPAR growths month on month (Jan 2.07% V's Comp set 1.29% and Feb 13.18% V's Comp set 0.45%) driven by massive occupancy gains. These gains are driven by a robust commercial strategy to grow occupancy through Leisure and business groups. The levels of service delivered by the team at the hotel underspin's the strategy alongside the new look product - it's a fair assumption that the Express Cafe and Lounge has supported these gains and the is repeated through guest feedbck. Park Royal is poised to spend the second month out-performing West London hotels in the RBH portfolio.
The hotel is working with the RBH in-house marketing team to build a coffee loyalty programme geared at the local student population and also build awareness with local business.
Coffee is big news and since the hotel is now aligned with a fantastic product the intention is to make the most of the opportunity.
The end of trial strategy if for Express Café and Lounge to be a hub where you can grab a coffee and meet with colleagues with functional, comfortable surroundings. A place where students can revise with free WIFI and printing services or a place to grab a snack and charge your phone.
The hotel will do work with the local community and looking to the future, will look to display art works by local artists.
Build up relationships with locals business as North Acton continues its massive regeneration.
See you soon!...