Birmingham Hotels Thread

[Brum X]

BIRMINGHAM is playing a key role in a five-star year so far for the UKs hotel industry, as a average cost of a room in the city rises to £78.00. 2007 looks set to a prime 12 months for the hotel sector, with Birmingham one of the best performing cities, according to a new report by Deloitte. In Birmingham, revPAR increased by 13.8 per cent from £50.00 in 2006 to £58.00- the third highest in the UK. Only London at £93.00 and Gatwick Airport at £64.00 have recorded higher revPAR. The average cost of a hotel room in Birmingham is also among the highest in the UK, at £78.00. London remains the most expensive city with the average room costing £119.00 a night. The cheapest rooms can be found in Liverpool and Nottingham where average cost is £58.00.
I think this news along with the proposals for more hotels in the city, one at Snowhill and the other possibly at Broad Street Tower is very good news for Birmingham indeed. I wonder what hotel they will be opening at our faboulous Snowhill Towers?????

[Flogging Molly]

It is good news, shows demand is very high for the city which makes the difficulty Richardson are having getting a hotel operator very bemusing.

I've a funny feeling the snowhill hotelier will be from the far-east.

[JayPeeDee]

Originally Posted by Flogging Molly

It is good news, shows demand is very high for the city which makes the difficulty Richardson are having getting a hotel operator very bemusing.

I've a funny feeling the snowhill hotelier will be from the far-east.

Would be mighty impressive if we could attract a Shangri-La. Although something along the lines of an Intercontinental or Mandarin Oriental would be acceptable too.

[blahblah]

We should keep this thread going...

Maybe then, restoring the Grand will become financially viable!

[BABYCAKES]

Its an odd World. Success of a city, now apparently judged by how expensive the average hotel room is.
Ask the man in the street, and he would see success as great accomodation at a reasonable (and not expensive) price.

[ShavenHeaden]

Originally Posted by BABYCAKES

Its an odd World. Success of a city, now apparently judged by how expensive the average hotel room is.
Ask the man in the street, and he would see success as great accomodation at a reasonable (and not expensive) price.

Hence the reason why the man in the street won't become a captain of industry.

If great accomodation is available cheaply it means no demand. So whereas it may be good for the users of said hotels, it's not so good for the economy of the city.

[BABYCAKES]

Originally Posted by ShavenHeaden

Hence the reason why the man in the street won't become a captain of industry.

If great accomodation is available cheaply it means no demand. So whereas it may be good for the users of said hotels, it's not so good for the economy of the city.

I disgree that good value accomodation is not so good for the economy of a city. Ask the users of Travelodge for instance. Good accomodation means more people will have access to visit. If your argument was as simple as you think it is, we wouldn't have seen an explosion in better value hotels, airlines etc. The British seaside suffers from too expensive accomodation, conversely European resorts are full of Brits, because of better value accomodation.
It may make you proud that Birmingham is becoming an expensive place for the average person to pay to stay in, but it makes me ashamed.

[hammerb24]

Babycakes,

In all fairness there is a massive amount of budget hotels in Brum, there are 3 travelodges in and around the city centre (Broad St, Broadway Plaza and Fort Dunlop), 3 Ibis Hotels in and around the centre city centre (China Town, Holloway Circus and nr the Blues ground) plus the much abused Etap which offers a room for 3 for just £35.00. That's not including the Formule 1 hotel, the Holiday Inn Express near Summer Row and all the others in and around the Brum suberbs.

For me I think we have a good blend of hotels to accomodate the price concious and the higher end market along with plenty in the middle. All we need now is a 5* hotel.

[JayPeeDee]

Originally Posted by hammerb24

Babycakes,

In all fairness there is a massive amount of budget hotels in Brum, there are 3 travelodges in and around the city centre (Broad St, Broadway Plaza and Fort Dunlop), 3 Ibis Hotels in and around the centre city centre (China Town, Holloway Circus and nr the Blues ground) plus the much abused Etap which offers a room for 3 for just £35.00. That's not including the Formule 1 hotel, the Holiday Inn Express near Summer Row and all the others in and around the Brum suberbs.

For me I think we have a good blend of hotels to accomodate the price concious and the higher end market along with plenty in the middle. All we need now is a 5* hotel.

I agree. There's plenty of low cost hotels in Brum and there is a market there for a top-end hotel, a proper 5-star. Having a 5* may push the average price up, doesn't mean there is nowhere cheap to stay.

[feltip]

Originally Posted by hammerb24

Babycakes,

In all fairness there is a massive amount of budget hotels in Brum, there are 3 travelodges in and around the city centre (Broad St, Broadway Plaza and Fort Dunlop), 3 Ibis Hotels in and around the centre city centre (China Town, Holloway Circus and nr the Blues ground) plus the much abused Etap which offers a room for 3 for just £35.00. That's not including the Formule 1 hotel, the Holiday Inn Express near Summer Row and all the others in and around the Brum suberbs.

For me I think we have a good blend of hotels to accomodate the price concious and the higher end market along with plenty in the middle. All we need now is a 5* hotel.

I dont think express by holiday inn would take kindly to being labelled with Travellodge and Travelinn. If you have ever been to one you will know the standard is much higher than the other budget type brands and is fiecely protected. Plus the Express in City Centre is primarily business for the week, only at weekends for the masses with reduced costs. Still not cheap though, was £55 weekend and £68 weekdays for 2 people with £25 charge for third person when I worked there.

Nice mix though of Hotels and certainly occupancy is competitive.

There is a huge mix though, from Hyatt, Hilton NEC, Express City Centre + castle brom birmingham north nec wolverhampton, then we have Travellodge broad st and one at five ways, travellodge, Malmaison, Hotel Du Vin, Ibis Arcadian and Holloway Head, Crowne Plaza, Jury's, Novotel on broad st, Brittania (though dont stay there unless your on drugs or want to kill yourself, Wetherlodge, Ramada Mailbox, Burlington, City Inn Brindley Place, Holiday Inn, Radisson, Thislte St Chad and Hagley Road, Best Western, Days Hotel, Plough and Harrow, plus Mitchells and Butler hotel with pubs, Etap, Nite Nite in Centenary Plaza, + one by library.

And to think thats not them all and come conference season such as spring fair it can be impossible to get a hotel in city and have to go to NEC or even Wolverhampton.
The one in Cannock that we saw in other post in tower is called Birmingham North

[hammerb24]

There's also a Trevelodge in Walsall called Birmingham Walsall, a Holiday Inn in Walsall called Birmingham North and a Ramada budget hotel in Bescot called Birmingham J9. Worth noting that Brum hotels are havinga knock on effect out of town, there's a Village Hotel in Walsall and soon to be opened another Express by Holiday Inn, the 2nd one in Walsall. BTW apologies if I've slandered Express by Holiday Inn!

[feltip]

lol, i'll forgive you. Though dont work for them anymore but they are good. With free continental breakfast which is always a bonus.
Stayed at Crowne Plaza once and thought i'll go for breakfast. Im sure it was £20 odd so was like sod that.

Its really good for places like Walsall etc to be called Birmingham North, South etc as it highlights that greater brum does exist and more rememberable than Streetly or Walsall to international visitors.

I always use Laterooms.com to look for good deals. Quite a lot of places in Brum and as noted on main thread with the hostel opening in Jewellery Quarter its much better for visitors now. Never understood why we couldnt get a YHA hostel. Be good for international tourists as they attract more young people.

If your a hotel company its never looked so good for opening a new hotel.

[JayPeeDee]

Originally Posted by feltip

I dont think express by holiday inn would take kindly to being labelled with Travellodge and Travelinn. If you have ever been to one you will know the standard is much higher than the other budget type brands and is fiecely protected. Plus the Express in City Centre is primarily business for the week, only at weekends for the masses with reduced costs. Still not cheap though, was £55 weekend and £68 weekdays for 2 people with £25 charge for third person when I worked there.

Nice mix though of Hotels and certainly occupancy is competitive.

There is a huge mix though, from Hyatt, Hilton NEC, Express City Centre + castle brom birmingham north nec wolverhampton, then we have Travellodge broad st and one at five ways, travellodge, Malmaison, Hotel Du Vin, Ibis Arcadian and Holloway Head, Crowne Plaza, Jury's, Novotel on broad st, Brittania (though dont stay there unless your on drugs or want to kill yourself, Wetherlodge, Ramada Mailbox, Burlington, City Inn Brindley Place, Holiday Inn, Radisson, Thislte St Chad and Hagley Road, Best Western, Days Hotel, Plough and Harrow, plus Mitchells and Butler hotel with pubs, Etap, Nite Nite in Centenary Plaza, + one by library.

And to think thats not them all and come conference season such as spring fair it can be impossible to get a hotel in city and have to go to NEC or even Wolverhampton.
The one in Cannock that we saw in other post in tower is called Birmingham North

I work in Rugby, they have a Holiday Inn Express and a policy during the week that you must book 2 nights minimum at a time. This hotel is regularly full and my only guess is because of events at the NEC as there is no other reason to stay in Rugby. Build a few more hotels in Brum and they are guaranteed to be full most of the time.

[Biosonic]

Originally Posted by blahblah

We should keep this thread going...

Maybe then, restoring the Grand will become financially viable!

There was some work going on at the Grand the other day.

[blahblah]

Originally Posted by Biosonic

There was some work going on at the Grand the other day.

Was there? Did you see what it was they were doing?

If it's the scafflding you refer to, they' just inspecting the damage. Last I'd heard from Horton's was that they weren't sure what to do with it. The only work they were doing was to stop it falling down.

[brumthom]

hmm. reckon i can squat in it? theres no one in there right?

[Biosonic]

Originally Posted by blahblah

Was there? Did you see what it was they were doing?

If it's the scafflding you refer to, they' just inspecting the damage. Last I'd heard from Horton's was that they weren't sure what to do with it. The only work they were doing was to stop it falling down.

There were workmen climbing in and out of the windows- couldn't make out what was going on though.

[Steldemetriou]

Article in EGi

hotbed of dealsactivity
23/06/2007 00:00
Star quality Birmingham needs more hotel space if it is to compete with rivals. Two luxury hotel brands could soon be opening with more to come. Ian Halstead reports
The race is on to unveil Birmingham's most luxurious hotel, with two of the biggest mixed-use schemes set to sign major brands.
Ballymore Properties is close to landing Birmingham's first five-star name at Snowhill, while Mailbox duo Alan Chatham and Mark Billingham expect to complete negotiations with a boutique brand for the Cube, the final phase of its mixed-use Mailbox complex, this month.
Ballymore is in due diligence with a preferred operator for its 23-storey hotel. Although it will not identify the brand, observers put the Starwood Group's Sheraton or Hilton firmly in the frame.
The Ken Shuttleworth-designed Cube is bringing in Conran for its rooftop restaurant, and the search for an equally high-end 40-bedroom hotel is down to the last two on the Mailbox shortlist.
Boost needed
A major boost to the city's overall stock of bedrooms is much needed, say Jones Lang LaSalle's national hotels team. The four-star Radisson SAS has been the city's only recent top-end arrival in recent years.
Senior vice-president Graham Dodd calculates that just 40 bedrooms will be added to Birmingham's hotels sector this year, while Manchester will see 1,221 come on stream. He adds that, during 2008, not one new hotel room will open in Birmingham but 681 will in its northern rival.
The statistics appear alarming but, though his comments might seem predictable, Marketing Birmingham's commercial director Ian Taylor suggests the figures are not as gloomy as they appear.
He insists that the strength of a city's hotel sector cannot be measured in terms of bed stock or occupancy levels, as long as neither is out of kilter with other regional centres.
"The key figures are the room rates achieved by operators, and the amount of money spent locally by people using those hotels," says Taylor.
Demand for beds in Birmingham is increasing. Deloitte & Touche's national Hotel Benchmark survey states occupancy rates have been edging up since 2000, and are averaging around the 70% mark.
Martin Armistead - who heads DTZ's hotels team in Europe, the Middle East and Africa - says crossing the 70% benchmark is a critical and healthy sign.
"Typically, it means that a location has unsatisfied demand, and Birmingham certainly has scope for several hotels of four stars and upward," he says.
He sees Richardson Developments' scheme on Broad Street as "ripe for a four-star-plus", and considers Digbeth's Irish Quarter another strong prospect.
There has been much discussion that Jurys Inn would come to the latter area, but Armistead expects a more upmarket brand.
Meanwhile, Knight Frank surveyor Mark Jones says budget brands, such as Travelodge and Accor Hotels, are desperate to increase their Birmingham presence. Jones also believes one of the world's biggest luxury brands - Armani Hotels - is eyeing the city.
Development mismatch
Two years of effective stagnation in the number of hotel beds is hard to square with the city's buoyant development sector, availability of sites and rising demand.
Jack Glonek - an assistant director in the city council's development directorate - believes the apparent mismatch lies in developers' focus in Birmingham on major mixed-use projects, which will include hotels, rather than standalone hotel schemes.
He cites the Cube, Snowhill, Eastside, Arena Central, the Richardsons' Broad Street scheme, Calthorpe's Edgbaston Mill and Chord Deeley's Jewellery Quarter project as examples of the trend.
Unfortunately, the time needed to assemble the land and win planning for such major projects stretches the hotel delivery timetable.
Other cities such as Bath, Edinburgh and Manchester have attracted top-end brands into refurbished buildings.
Manchester's five-star Radisson Edwardian was created from the 19th century Free Trade Hall, and three other top-end hotels have also emerged from recent refurbishments.
"The old Manchester economy left behind a significant number of buildings, often old warehouses, suitable for conversion," says Glonek.
In Birmingham, however - the impressive Hotel du Vin's presence inside the former Eye Hospital apart - operators have had fewer options.
Inevitably, there have been missed opportunities. Targetfollow's Baskerville House on Centenary Square could have been an eye-catching hotel and several boutique operators looked at the equally imposing 301 Broad Street directly opposite.
Elsewhere, Hortons' Estate has been tight-lipped about plans for its former Grand Hotel site, now shrouded behind scaffolding and builders' sheets. The scheme hit a major setback recently after the grade-II listing of its ballroom meant that it could not be redeveloped - in a joint venture with Richardson Developments - into a major office development.
Hortons is now working on revised plans for the famous Colmore Row building, which should be unveiled by the autumn.

[Erebus555]

There is something that was also missed in that article:

Elsewhere, Hortons' Estate has been tight-lipped about plans for its former Grand Hotel site, now shrouded behind scaffolding and builders' sheets. The scheme hit a major setback recently after the grade-II listing of its ballroom meant that it could not be redeveloped - in a joint venture with Richardson Developments - into a major office development.
Hortons is now working on revised plans for the famous Colmore Row building, which should be unveiled by the autumn.

Thanks Stel!

[Steldemetriou]

I deliberately didn't highlight that as I'll believe it when i see it!!

A building like that needs to be in the hands of a proper developer who fully appreciates what could be done, rather than one who f's around waiting for it to crumble