Caterer and Hotelkeeper – 6728

Talks on merger could restart, says Marston

BEST Western Hotels' new chairman Tony Marston has not ruled out resurrecting merger talks with rival consortium Consort.

Despite the acrimonious collapse of talks in February (Caterer, 3 March), Mr Marston said the original concept behind the deal, which would have brought considerable benefits from joint purchasing and marketing, still made "a great deal of sense".

"I would like to think the door is not closed and that talks may restart at a later date," he told the Best Western board at his inaugural board meeting last month.

The sticking point in the talks was the question of ratings, although Mr Marston said that originally both parties had agreed to work towards the new criteria Best Western has set its members.

He said he had been surprised at the last-minute insistence of Consort's board that all its members should be included in any merger, when many would be unable to reach those criteria.

Mr Marston, who is chairman of Hythe-based Marston Hotels, confirmed that in recognition of last year's record growth in business it had been decided to reduce membership subscription levels.