Marketing

Airport Rate cut

Irish hotel group Bewley's is to slash room rates from £85 to £59 at the 230-bedroom former Holiday Inn Garden Court hotel at Manchester airport, which it acquired in October. The hotel aims to undercut the current glut of four-star hotels at Manchester airport, including a Hilton, Radisson Edwardian and Crowne Plaza, by providing superior three-star accommodation at a set rate of £59 a night per room. Bewley's also plans to invest about £13m redeveloping the property by adding a further 120 bedrooms.

Digital savings

The Carlton hotel in Guildford, Surrey, has devised a digital brochure to promote its conference centre. Included are plans, dimensions and 3D images of the centre. The six-page brochure costs the hotel 3p to e-mail to a potential customer rather than about £1.50 to mail its printed brochure.

Lure of the Lakes

The 26-bedroom Linthwaite House hotel in Windermere, Cumbria, is hoping to tackle the quiet winter period in the Lake District by offering two events to keep the hotel full. in February it is running a two-day event themed on wines of the New World, while in March it will run a creative writing retreat.

Cash on hand

Guests at Thistle Hotels have no excuse for not giving cash tips to staff: the group has installed cash machines in more than a third of its properties after signing a contract with TRM for supply and maintenance of the equipment. The machines have been installed in hotel foyers for guests to access cash in a safe environment.