Stakis Promotes U.K. Hotels, Standardized Mtgs. Program
<B> Stakis Promotes U.K. Hotels, Standardized Mtgs. Program</B>
By Lauren Bielski
U.K.-based Stakis Hotels is staging a two-pronged attack in the battle to capture more U.S. meetings business from international chains such as Marriott and Hilton.
The first concerns itself with attracting large corporate meetings by promoting its four convention-resort hotels, one in Blackpool, two in Brighton and another in Birmingham, as well as a $130 million expansion and renovation to its fifth such property, the Stakis London Metropole. When completed in 2000, the project will create the largest convention hotel in the U.K., with more than 44,000 square feet of meeting space.
The second step is Assured Meetings, a one-stop shop booking initiative expanded to 53 hotels this year that promotes lucrative small meetings contracts with inclusive, pre-packaged pricing.
Begun in 1992, Assured Meetings guarantees purpose-designed, air-conditioned meeting rooms and training facilities with full office support services. The idea is to provide planners with consistency, and reduce the need for site inspections by offering a standardized product in a region mostly characterized by smaller, boutique hotels.
To further attract small meetings, the chain plans to rebuild its Website to facilitate online booking of individual corporate travelers and small groups.
According to the managing director of Stakis Hotels, Anthony Harris, both aspects of the strategy are viewed as equally critical as the hotel organization seeks to extend a strong national brand recognition here. With 55 properties owned in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and a casino division of 22 hotels, the chain is poised to make its mark. "We're a strong brand in the U.K. and Europe and have few competitors nationally, most notably The Thistle Group. Our next step is to contract more business with U.S. corporate planners," Harris said.
The chain in May announced it will concentrate on the ownership of four-star properties and sell eight properties that did not fit that profile.
To further its four-star aim, Stakis also has been revamping and building its collection, with four new hotel builds in the past three years and three current constructions in Milton Keynes, Belfast and Strathclyde Business Park near Glasgow. Strathclyde will feature 5,000 square feet of meeting space in three conference rooms with a maximum capacity of 220 attendees and four small meeting rooms that can host 25. Stakis also intends to build a tournament golf resort in Ulster, Northern Ireland. That property will feature conference and banqueting accommodation for up to 400 attendees.
But the upgrade to its London Metropole property, which was one of five resort properties acquired from the Metropole organization in 1996, will perhaps be the most immediately significant to U.S. planners. It will position the property as the closest central London hotel to Heathrow Airport and the largest in the U.K., supporting up to 3,000 delegates.
Understanding that the traditional challenge in the U.K., as with the rest of Europe, is a limited capacity of sleeping rooms and meetings space, Stakis will emphasize its burgeoning portfolio of meeting facilities. The company also is aware of U.S. demands for speedier information exchange. "We're looking at ways to be more responsive to U.S. planners and mitigate the distance," Harris said.