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New Hotels planned in South Yorkshire
A new Radisson Blu Hotel will be at the centre of the Heart of the City II scheme in Sheffield. Thed development seeks to convert an existing Victorian building overlooking the city’s Peace Gardens. The new hotel will form a gateway to the district from the east and is one component in the city’s regeneration plan.
The Radisson Blu Hotel will have 156 bedrooms, flexible banqueting and meeting spaces and a rooftop bar and restaurant. It will sit alongside an old Odeon building which will be redeveloped into a mixed-leisure complex.
Building contracts will be awarded at the end of the year to be followed by a two year construction period.
Meanwhile, ten miles down the road in Rotherham, a new hotel is also being planned.
The new hotel will feature as part of a mixed-use scheme at the Forge Island site in the centre of Rotherham.
The scheme includes a new cinema, food and drink outlets, new leisure facilities as well as the new hotel - all connected by a new pedestrian bridge to the wider town centre.
If consent is granted it is anticipated that construction will begin in Rotherham in autumn 2021.
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New Hotel planned in Mayfair
Leconfield House Mayfair in central London, better known as MI5 Headquarters, is set to be converted into a luxury, five-star hotel and private members club.
Plans have been lodged with Westminster Council to convert the building. If all goes to plan the new hotel will have up to 78 bedrooms and will also include a health club and spa, restaurant and bar, meeting and events facilities, retail units and a screening room. The façade of the building could also feature a new living green wall as well as a glass dome on the roof above the restaurant.
Leconfield House is located in Curzon Street. It was built in 1939. In 1945 MI5 moved in to occupy the building before moving out in 1976. The building featured machine-gun turrets mounted on the roof during the war in case of a foreign invasion - they pointed up Curzon Street toward Hyde Park.
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Room2 planning to open in Belfast
Aparthotel operator, Room2, is planning to open a new 175-unit ‘hometel’ aparthotel in Belfast city centre.
The nine-storey aparthotel will include food and beverage facilities on the ground-floor level with meeting and conference facilities on the first floor. The apartments will range in size from 21sq-mt up to 37sq-mt and all will include a fully fitted kitchen.
Construction is due to commence shortly with completion anticipated in late 2021.
Room 2 Belfast will be located in Queen Street in the heart of central Belfast within easy walking distance of all the major sites and landmarks in the city.
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Planned upgrade of Mitre Hotel
New owners of the Mitre Hotel at Hampton Court - Signet Hotel Group - have published plans to upgrade the hotel from a three-star to a five-star property.
The Grade II-listed Mitre Hotel has 36 bedrooms and is set on the banks of the River Thames by Hampton Court Palace. The hotel also includes a 60-cover riverside restaurant, a 70-cover brasserie and bar, an 80-cover Orangery, a large riverside terrace, two conference rooms and private dining space.
The new-look Mitre Hotel is due to reopen in September 2020, government guidelines permitting.
The original Mitre Hotel building dates back to the mid 17th century when it was built as additional accommodation for guests of King Charles II. It was subsequently rebuilt in the mid-18th century.
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Volume and Value of the UK Conference Market
With the UK hospitality industry now in lockdown with hotels up and down the land closed for all but essential travel, it is sobering to read the important contribution the industry makes to the UK economy. Figures published by Conference News Magazine show:
In 2018, there were an estimated 1.48million conferences and meetings in the UK. These events were attended by 95.3million delegates accounting for approximately 152.8million delegate days. There was an average of 428 conferences and meetings per venue in 2018 - up from 373 events the year before.
In 2018 exhibitions in the UK generated £11bn in spending and contributed £5.4bn in value-added to the UK economy. UK exhibitions attracted over 9.1million visitors in 2018 to almost 1,100 major events across a range of sectors - and this activity supported 114,000 jobs in the UK.
In 2018, there were 141.5million visits to outdoor events in the UK, with a total on-site and off-site spend of £39.5bn.
Full breakdown: https://www.conference-news.co.uk/coronavirus-updates-business-news/uk-events-report-executive-summary
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Oberoi to open in London
Real estate investment company, Cain International, has signed an agreement with luxury hotel operator, the Oberoi Group, to operate 23 serviced residences in Mayfair, west London.
Oberoi currently operate 32 hotels around the world. The serviced residences in Mayfair will be the hotel group’s first European venture.
The site is a 48,000 sq-ft Grade II-listed property in South Audley Street dating from 1845. The residences will also feature retail space and a small restaurant. They are due for completion in 2022.