Rezidor launches first Park Inn at Heathrow
Scandinavian group Rezidor SAS has taken over the management of the former Le M‚ridien hotel at Heathrow, London, with the launch of its first Park Inn in the UK.
Rezidor will spend £10m converting the 889-bedroom hotel to its mid-market Park Inn brand over the next two years, despite the property having recently undergone a £15m investment programme.
Kurt Ritter, president and chief executive of Rezidor SAS, said: "The UK is one of our primary markets and therefore the introduction of Park Inn is a logical step forward. I'm thrilled to be launching the Park Inn brand at a global gateway such as Heathrow, which is an ideal location for our first Park Inn."
The hotel was one of 11 properties run by Le M‚ridien brought under the control of owner the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in July last year. Among the others, US hotel giant Marriott now manages the Grosvenor House hotel on London's Park Lane and the Shelbourne in Dublin. Hilton Group manages the Waldorf in London, and Whitbread has taken over the management contract of the Victoria and Albert hotel in Manchester. Former Le M‚ridien boss Tony Troy manages a further five of the properties through his company Principal Hotels.
RBS now has just one more operator to find. A deal on the 1,020-bedroom Cumberland hotel at London's Marble Arch has yet to be finalised, although US hotel company Starwood is understood to have shown an interest in the hotel.