Pictures

UK hotels should be encouraged to follow in the footsteps of their US counterparts in providing a nall-encompassing leisure experience, according to Edward Murray, executive director and general manager of Chelsea Village Hotel.

Murray made his commentsat the first in a series of business breakfast seminars, held for the first time during Hotelympia. During his speech on "Bringing together the synergy of hospitality and leisure", he explained how he was spearheading the opening of Chelsea Village Hotel, the centrepiece of a £200m redevelopment of a 12-acre site alongside Chelsea Football Club.

Murray explained that cynical commentators had dismissed the new development as a hotel stuck on the back of a football pitch.

While he recognised that the football club provided valuable income on the 26 days per year that Chelsea played at home, there was a need to provide customers and guests for the rest of the year with services and facilities that were in touch with their demands.

By the millennium, the facilities at Chelsea Village will include a second luxury hotel, a host of themed bars and restaurants, a sports and leisure complex, a museum and a wide selection of shops.

Other speakers at Hotelympia's Business Breakfasts, organised in association with Arena, included Garry Hawkes, chairman of Gardner Merchant, speaking on "Hospitality training - its future in college or workplace?" and Lisa Barnard, associate publisher of Harpers - The Wine & Spirit Weekly on "How to maximise profit from your wine list".