Hotel developers favour sites next to attractions and other businesses
More hotels are being developed alongside attractions or businesses which can guarantee a certain number of bookings throughout the year, according to property agent Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.
Despite a slowdown in hotel investment in Europe during the first six months of 2012 - down by 12% to £3b compared with the same period in 2011 - the latest Jones Lang LaSalle Hotel Investment Highlights reports that UK hotel development is taking place in some unexpected locations.
Chris Moore, national director of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, said: "Very often, the justification for hotel investment lies in the marriage that occurs when a hotel proposition is blended with other activities, and it is the diversity of those activities that are spawning new reasons for building hotel bedrooms.
"Evidence reveals that the ability of a key stakeholder to underwrite a minimum room night guarantee is an innovative route to secure stronger commitments from operators, funders and investors."
In particular, Moore pointed to the development of two hotels from Hilton Worldwide - a 142-bedroom Hilton and 86-bedroom Hampton by Hilton - alongside the new National Football Centre in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire.
He also highlighted the new four-star, 210-bedroom hotel being developed as a part of the expanding Manchester Business School by the University of Manchester and Bruntwood. "Here, a long-term room night guarantee has been created to enable the partners to deliver a better-quality hotel which will add considerable value to the wider scheme," Moore said.
UK leads European hotel development >>
New partnership formed to develop hotels >>
By Janet Harmer
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