Jarvis switch will be complete by year end

The majority of Jarvis Hotels will be renamed under the Ramada brand by the end of the year, chairman John Jarvis said today. Jarvis's link up with Marriott International, announced this morning as the company posted a near 12% increase in profits, will see 56 of the group's 65-strong estate renamed Ramada. There will be three brands: Ramada Resort, Ramada Plaza and Ramada Jarvis. The 107-bedroom Jarvis International Hotel and Country Club in Gloucester will become a Ramada Resort, chosen because of its extensive health club facilities, dry ski slope and 18-hole golf course. Jarvis International Regent's Park, 151-bedroom Jarvis International Gatwick and 201-bedroom Jarvis International Bristol - will become Ramada Plazas. The remaining 52 will switch to become Ramada Jarvis. One hotel, the five-star 272-bedroom Jarvis Piccadilly in Manchester will be given a different, as yet undisclosed, name as part of a £20m refit due to start at the end of the year. The remaining smaller country house hotels in the portfolio, those with fewer than 100-bedrooms, will retain the stand-alone Jarvis brand. The rationale behind the switch was to tap into the growing market for corporate and commercial business, which is often largely picked up through global distribution systems, said Jarvis. Under the deal with Marriott, from September Jarvis will get access to Marriott's MARSHA reservations system, Ramada's worldwide sales and marketing distribution network and its travel agents' programme. Managers will also be given the chance to work with Ramada International around the world. In return, Jarvis will pay franchise and marketing fees and a booking fee per reservation. Jarvis stressed the change did not mean a downgrading of the Jarvis name. "We are not exactly walking away from our heritage," he said. The move is also the first step in a shift of emphasis by Jarvis away from being an owner of hotels to managing them. As part of this, Jarvis is looking at ways of releasing money from its estate, including the option of the sale and leaseback of some properties. Jarvis said the company was holding "a series of talks with various financial institutions" on this issue, which would result in the sale of some assets followed by their leasing back. "It is a new era as a management services company. There is tremendous potential for expansion," he added. by Nic Paton  Â