Features

Hotel brands you need to know... Barcelo Hotels

27 Jun 2011 by BusinessTraveller
The Spanish chain has more than 20 UK properties that are well suited for meetings and leisure, finds Liat Clark. Where in the UK? Barcelo has 21 UK hotels distributed across England, Scotland and Wales. Rural properties, such as the Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds, and coastal leisure sites, such as the Imperial in Torquay, contrast with city-centre properties in Cardiff and Edinburgh. What are the hotels like? In September 2007, Barcelo took out a 45-year lease on all 21 properties from owner Puma Hotels. “We’ve retained the individuality of the hotels with their historic names and local roots, but introduced brand standards in terms of [in-room] products,” says Paul Harnedy, regional director for Barcelo UK. This can be seen in the on-site restaurants, where local produce is used, and through the company’s work with charities in the area. Most of the four-star properties are steeped in tradition. For example, the 77-room Lygon Arms in Broadway, Worcestershire, dates back to 1532, the Victorian 170-room Majestic in Harrogate has hosted Churchill and Elgar (70 rooms have been shut following a fire last year but are due to reopen in August), and Walton Hall is a restored 14th-century 56-room manor set among 26 hectares of Warwickshire countryside. Since the former management group, Paramount, acquired the properties between 1994 and 2005, styles vary and there are some more modern additions, including the 362-room hotel in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and the 130-room Walton hotel in Warwickshire, both of which boast some of Barcelo’s most extensive conference facilities in the UK. Are they for business travellers? Yes, though not if you are looking for properties in key cities – the group lacks major business hubs such as London, Manchester and Birmingham. Still, every property is equipped with meeting venues and outside space for teambuilding exercises. “Even if you take our hotels on the coast, we still ensure the facilities and service are what would be expected by the business traveller,” Harnedy says. “For instance, while we have great restaurants, we also offer home comforts and quick and easy food in bars and lounges for travellers who want to work and eat at the same time.” Wifi is free for 30 minutes in the properties’ public spaces, and there are printing, photocopying and scanning facilities. All guestrooms have a desk, trouser press, wired or wireless internet (at a fee) and some have LCD flatscreen TVs. There are 220 meeting rooms across the 21 properties, and the Harrogate Majestic has the largest capacity with 15 rooms accommodating more than 1,000 delegates (see “Meet in Harrogate”). A dedicated website for arranging corporate events, meetbarcelo.co.uk, was introduced in early 2009 to make booking easier. Event organisers will find meeting room dimensions, teambuilding options and deals here. Is there a loyalty scheme? Barcelo Rewards Guests was set up in 2009 for individual travellers, while Barcelo Rewards Bookers supports corporate agents. Both work on a points system. Members earn one point for each night spent at a UK hotel (bookers earn after spending £5,000), which can then be redeemed for Barcelo UK or shopping vouchers. These can be used in 25,000 outlets in the UK, including branches of Boots, Debenhams and WHSmith. The brand is in talks with its head office in Spain to align the UK scheme with its European one, which has partnerships with Iberia, Air Berlin and Spanair, among others. Tell me the good news… Since 2007, Barcelo has invested £17 million across the brand. This began with the introduction of wifi in all public spaces and an upgrade of heating and hot water systems to bring the historical properties up to date. “We put the most environmentally friendly systems in place,” Harnedy says. “It’s difficult in the older buildings, but where we can, we introduce more energy-efficient ways of using power.” Once the back of house was taken care of, work began on refurbishing the public spaces and bedrooms. The Stirling Highland, the Imperial in Blackpool and Combe Grove Manor in Bath all received bedroom upgrades, and the Oxford, Basingstoke and Cheltenham hotels have had their bar and lounge areas refreshed. Half a million pounds was also spent on restoring Combe Grove Manor’s restaurant, meeting rooms, reception and lounge areas. And the bad… The biggest drawback is the absence of a London property. “There is a real desire to invest in London,” Harnedy says. “Over the next three years we would hope to enter that market.” Plus, while wifi is free in public areas for the first 30 minutes, it costs from £6.50 an hour afterwards, or from £15 for 24 hours. There is no free internet in the bedrooms and some hotels have wired access only. Negotiations to introduce a free service cannot begin until Barcelo’s contract runs out next year. Future plans? Investment in the portfolio is a key focus. Over the next three years, £12 million will be spent on refurbishments. The Cardiff hotel will have its lobby and lounge upgraded by September, and the Daventry property will have a beauty salon installed by the autumn (18 of the hotels have health centres, with facilities ranging from gyms and saunas to fitness studios and squash courts). Bedrooms in Cheltenham Park will be upgraded, and the brand is looking to introduce additional rooms in hotels where infrastructure and space permit. Flatscreen TVs will be rolled out across all properties by 2012. The brand is also taking a keen look at service standards. “We want to make sure we invest in our service delivery,” Harnedy says. “Shiny products are one thing but it’s the service element that can differentiate us from our competitors.” An external agency has been hired to analyse customer feedback, which is passed on to the hotels daily. Barcelo is also aiming to have AA Rosette-accredited restaurants in every property within three years. Many already have one, and the Troon Marine hotel in Scotland was recently awarded a second. Where can I learn more? Comprehensive information is available at barcelo-hotels.co.uk, where users can sign up to My Barcelo and access the loyalty programme. Corporate bookers should go through meetbarcelo.co.uk.   NB: Barcelo Hotels pulled out of the UK in 2014.
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