EP Magazine

Have we seen the death of the independent hotel?

During the past 15 years, growth in the UK’s hotel sector has been fuelled by the development of brands, whether established concepts bought in from elsewhere, or home-grown creations. They have raised the bar for quality and consistency from service delivery to employee development. And this raises the question: what has become of the independent hotel sector? Increasing polarisation? Progressive absorption by brands? Or joining a consortia? Or have they simply gone by the wayside? Heather Gibson reports

Hotels have always provided one of the most iconic visualisations of the hospitality industry. As the sector has evolved, so too have  discussions about quality and service; competition has increased, and changes seen in forms of ownership and management in the profession and approaches to employee development. Within this context, one of the most emotive subjects is the degree of consistency amongst hotel operations from one to the other, ranging from truly excellent to truly awful.

So it is perhaps no surprise that the development of brands has drawn such a level of discussion and debate, whether at the budget, boutique, mid-market or
five-star level. Branded hotels offer safety and security, a degree of consistency for consumers. Food has become an important factor in creating a hotel experience, along with celebrity affiliations to help boost profile. Concepts like Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, Firmdale, Travelodge and Premier Inn have provided a new set of hallmarks for the industry. Equally, it has been argued that brands have elevated the industry in terms of quality and service, whilst emerging boutique brands  rovided real excitement for the sector and are innovative.

Such a dominance of brands raises the question: are independent hotels a dying breed? EP met with two  leaders from UK consortia to pose this question:

• David Clarke is chief executive of Interchange and Consort Hotels & Resorts, parent company for Best  Western Great Britain
• Peter Hancock is chief executive of Pride of Britain hotels

David: Any report of the demise of the independent hotel sector is nonsense; it still represents by far the largest part of the UK hotel sector. The reality is that the
recession may well result in change within this market. History has shown that some independent operators offer consistently good service and some do not, which can then bring down the reputation of the sector as a whole. The great strength of independent hotels is that they stand out from the ubiquitous chain hotel.

Peter:Your question suggests that independent hotels might be an endangered species. And whilst it’s true that some family owned hotels have been forced into a crisis sale, or corporate owners have had to take control, most of these hoteliers are passionate individuals who love hotel keeping. There are always new  entrepreneurs coming onto the scene and we have seen some big changes in the industry. What has remained constant is the fact that people want to be treated specially and have an experience that they cannot get at home done to a high standard. Independent hotels are not dead and I think they have a very bright future. Hoteliers are often driven by their own passion of getting it right –money is a consequence rather than the main motivator for doing the job.

D: I agree that there have been big changes. For instance today, it’s very rare for a single hotel to have the uniqueness and personality to be able to raise their profile widely enough with their target market to be successful. It does still happen and I am glad in these cases, but I believe that’s often down to mavericks in the business and we need more of them! I think that what will happen is that independent hotels will work as part of a collective association or grouping. This is a  debate in itself, but the key here is for independent operators to work with organisations that allow their hotels to keep their individual personalities and still take advantage of being part of a wider group or consortium. The reality is that some kind of common identity is the key.

P: I would go further than that, especially as the star rating scheme progressively falls in importance and is replaced by TripAdvisor or other review websites. This
means that people are choosing where to stay in an entirely new way. Hotel rooms at the budget end are bought through similar search engines to car insurance websites. Equally, if you want a four star hotel you will search first on the internet. Traditional  motivators are slipping away.

People are increasingly turning to brands that give a good clue as to what sort of experience to expect. It’s the same logic that applies when people go for a  particular brand of car, they know that all models made by one manufacturer will share similar characteristics.This is true of hotels more and more, creating a need  to draw on the resources of a collective by ownership.

D:Hoteliers do have to change and aim to excite customers to use them, so it’s important to ensure they know what makes them stand out. We need new, innovative ideas. There are opportunities in the independent hotels sector to be inventive, this sector is after all where many new trendsetting ideas and brands
started off. The question is what and how. In addition, successful independent hotels bring in personality, which is often lacking in the bigger chain hotels.  Consumers are looking for more uniqueness these days, not bland sameness. The great thing about working with like-minded hoteliers in a consortium is the  sharing of ideas and the feeling that they are not working on their own. Collectives are also good as they encourage more competitionwith the big chains.

P: Group owned hotels have a different focus, and we have much to learn from them in terms of creating efficiency through their teams. However, individuality
at each hotel, within a chain is hard to drive centrally. Independent operators are more likely to excel because they have the freedom to do things their own way,
equally they can fail, you get both extremes.

One point we need to raise is pricing. This is a central issue. Independent hotel owners must find it hard to compete at the lower price end and so any step up in price has to be justified, forcing their ongoing quest for higher quality.

EP conclusion: So what of the independent hotel? Peter and David clearly believe that through differentiation, quality, uniqueness and, in many cases, group consortia arrangements, this segement will continue to thrive. In contrast, the proliferation of a variety of chains in the UK market begs the question how will
they continue to differentiate whilst competing on price and boosting profitability post-recession. 

(Photo credit: Susannah Fields, Flashfields Photography)