A show of Hands

It's taken four years, a lot of money and a lot of hard work, but the team behind Hand Picked hotels is finally ready to officially launch the brand into the marketplace. While a launch for a brand that's been around for so long might seem a strange move for most companies, it soon becomes clear when talking to chairman and chief executive officer Julia Hands that Hand Picked hotels is not like most companies.

Having acquired 14 hotels from the Arcadian and Virgin chains in 1999, along with a few others which have since been offloaded, the privately owned company, set up in 1999 by Hands and her financier husband Guy Hands, decided not to rebrand them as Hand Picked properties while still in their former state. "We wanted to change the culture of the hotels, not just the name, and that takes time," Hands says.

So Macdonald was drafted in to manage the properties in the interim, and planning for the refurbishment programme began in earnest in mid-2001, after the deal with Macdonald had been terminated. Some of the properties are still trading under the Arcadian name, although this will end on 7 October.

"We've done a pretty good job of confusing the market as to who we are," Hands says, laughing. "One of the benefits of the launch will be to clarify our brand within the market. We're of the opinion now that we have the kind of offering we're willing to show to the market. It's fairly consistent. We have a collection of beautiful properties, all of which are architecturally stunning. But although we want each hotel to be an individual, they're all members of the Hand Picked brand."

Operations director Gregor Ritchie also relishes the prospect of officially launching the brand. "It's about being out there in the industry and letting them know what we're about," he says. However, like Hands, Ritchie stresses the individual nature of each of the properties, and the unique set of challenges and priorities they have.

Conference trade For example, Chilston Park in Kent has very few businesses nearby, so receives minimal conference bookings, whereas Norton House in Edinburgh sees a very healthy conference trade. "Each property has its own business plan and stands on its own two feet," Ritchie says. "We've got to make each hotel successful in its own right, and that's a key challenge."

While the country house hotel idea is far from new, having been around in the UK for several decades, Hands claims that the Hand Picked offering is unique. She attributes this in part to the size of the collection and its mix of contemporary and traditional styles, with designer John Minshaw of Minshaw Designs helping to maintain each property's "distinctive personality".

According to the official spin: "Guests are actively encouraged to express their natural exuberance" and be "outrageously self-indulgent". Ritchie takes very seriously the idea that guests should be able to do pretty much what they want - within reason, of course. "Hand Picked is about delivering effortless, seamless service without stuffiness," he says.

The prime factor in delivering what Ritchie calls "the distinctive feel" of a Hand Picked hotel is the staff. "Our staff are human beings, not robots, and we want their characters to come through," he says. Ultimately, the company aims to inspire its staff and give them a sense of autonomy, though Ritchie dislikes using the word "empowerment" as it sounds "too corporate".

To help provide a consistent level of service across the chain, the hotel staff have 147 key brand standards to adhere to, and there are "brand champions" in each of the hotels to oversee the programme. While this might sound draconian, Hands says that the programme "just evolved" and that the staff came up with the standards, not the management. "You get a lot more buy-in from the staff that way," she says. "And by rolling out the hotels one by one, we've managed to perfect the delivery of those standards."

Guy and Julia Hands have spent more than £25m upgrading the properties, with a further £11m earmarked for 2004 on confirmed projects. While this may sound like a lot of time and money for just 14 hotels, as Ritchie explains: "It's not just about putting in new carpets and curtains." All of the 14 hotels have had work carried out on them, and some, such as Brandshatch Place in Kent, have been completely overhauled. On a practical front, most of the properties are listed buildings, and getting planning permission can be a lengthy process.

Embarking on such a major refurbishment plan is not a decision to be taken lightly, and Hands, with no previous hotel experience, is keen to assure us it wasn't. The past two years have seen a "massive business disruption", she says, with 700 of the chain's 800 rooms having been refurbished to date. "We bit off a lot, but it's difficult to cut corners," she says, insisting that the company is spending wisely.

Now, with the end of the refurbishment programme in sight, the company is turning its attention to expanding the hotels. Hands confirms that Hand Picked is also looking for other properties to add to the collection. "But, in the meantime, we have plenty of work cut out for us with our existing portfolio," she says.

Along with expanding its holdings, the company aims to improve its existing leisure facilities, and earlier this year appointed Helen Wynne leisure club development manager. One goal is to increase its number of properties with spas from five to 12. "Today's leisure guests want that option," Ritchie says. Hand Picked has given its conference rooms "a thorough overhaul" to help it win business in the highly competitive conference market, with new bespoke furniture. It also aims to improve its offerings in the weddings space.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a company that's waited two years to officially launch the brand, it's in no particular hurry to get a return on its investment. "We're not doing this expecting a return on investment in 18 months," Hands says. "You can't do that with country house hotels. It would mean cutting corners and lowering standards." However, Hands does expect to see "substantial" returns over the next five years, thanks to the refurbishment programme - and, despite the current gloom in the UK hotels sector, she's very positive about the future of the chain.

"I think we've made better use of our time over the past few years than our competitors," she says. "We've taken the lull in the market as an opportunity to invest. The money has been well spent and the situation now is fantastic - we're very well placed. I feel very optimistic for us and our position going forward."

For a closer look at a Hand Picked hotel, see the review of Buxted Park in the Inside Hotels supplement in the 9 October issue of Caterer & Hotelkeeper.

Hand Picked hotels

Factswww.handpicked.co.uk

• Turnover for the 14 hotels was £37m in 2003 and £38.4m in 2002, despite the disruption caused by upgrading.
• Net profit for the 14 hotels was £8.8m in 2003 and £8.5m in 2002.
• Formed in 1999 by former solicitor Julia Hands, the chairman and CEO.
• Headquartered at the Old Library, Sevenoaks, Kent.
• Acquired its 14 properties in July 2001 from Arcadian and Virgin.
• Properties initially managed by Macdonald Hotels, pending refurbishment and rebranding as Hand Picked properties.
• More than £25m spent on refurbishment so far, with a further £11m earmarked for 2004.
• Twelve of the hotels have been awarded two AA rosettes.
• Seven have improved their star ratings under Hands' stewardship.
• Four have been awarded Red Star status by the AA this year.

Food

The company is "aiming high with the food", operations director Gregor Ritchie says, and since acquiring the properties it has worked hard to improve their AA ratings. Twelve of the hotels now have two AA rosettes, and Ritchie claims that five are bordering on three-rosette status. Seven of the hotels have jumped categories under Hand Picked's tutelage, including three which have increased their rating from three stars to four stars this year.

Four properties have also been awarded Red Star status by the AA this year, having gained places in its list of top 200 AA-rated hotels. However, the only property currently boasting a Michelin-starred chef is Jersey's L'Horizon hotel, where Peter Fleming is the executive chef.

Portfolio

• Brandshatch Place, Kent
• Buxted Park, Uckfield, East Sussex
• Chilston Park, Maidstone, Kent
• Crathorne Hall, North Yorkshire
• Ettington Park, Stratford-upon-Avon
• Gwesty Seiont Manor, Snowdonia
• L'Horizon, St Brelade's Bay, Jersey
• Norton House, Edinburgh
• Nutfield Priory, Redhill, Surrey
• Rhinefield House, New Forest
• Rookery Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire
• Priest House, Derby
• Wood Hall, Wetherby, West Yorkshire
• Woodlands Park, Cobham, Surrey