Britannia Hotels: Difference between revisions
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*In 2011 Britannia won the category of 'Most Group-Friendly Hotel Chain or Group' in the Group Travel Awards.<ref>http://grouptravelawards.com/2011-results/</ref> |
*In 2011 Britannia won the category of 'Most Group-Friendly Hotel Chain or Group' in the Group Travel Awards.<ref>http://grouptravelawards.com/2011-results/</ref> |
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*Contact Manchester listed the Britannia Manchester Hotel as no.1 on their list of hotels that "are the tops for quality and quantity of space at bargain prices".<ref>http://contact-manchester.co.uk/hotels/</ref> |
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*In 2013 Pontins was awarded the UKCSI Award for Most Improved Organisation at the 2013 UK Customer Satisfaction Awards.<ref>https://www.instituteofcustomerservice.com/167-10666/UK-Customer-Satisfaction-Awards---winners-announced.html</ref> Alongside [[Butlins]] and [[Expedia]], [[Pontins]] continued this success by improving their scores by more than one point in the 2015 UK Institute of Customer Service Survey.<ref>https://www.instituteofcustomerservice.com/17439/Customers-will-pay-for-excellent-service-in-the-tourism-sector.html</ref> |
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*In 2015 Pontins was voted as a finalist by the travel agent readers in the 'Star Holiday Parks Operator' category of the Travel Bulletin 'Star Awards'.<ref>http://www.travelbulletin.co.uk/awards/awards-finalists-2015</ref> |
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==Controversy== |
==Controversy== |
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Revision as of 19:17, 5 October 2015
| File:Britannia 1.jpg | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hotels & Hospitality |
| Headquarters | Hale, Greater Manchester, England |
Number of locations | 51 hotels across the UK |
Key people | Alex Langsam CEO Robert Ferrari CFO Eileen Downey |
| Products | Hotels and property development |
| Services | Conference room hire, banqueting functions, health club membership |
| Revenue |  £55.448m (2011)[1] |
| £8.752m (2011) | |
| £8.138m (2011) | |
| Owner | A.Langsam Hawksford Trust Company Jersey Limited |
Number of employees | 1,393 |
| Website | www |
Britannia Hotels is a United Kingdom based hotel group with 51 hotels. Britannia operates at the budget end of the market with hotels varying in price and star ratings.
Overview
Britannia Hotels was founded in 1976 with the purchase of the Britannia Country House Hotel in Didsbury, Manchester. Its Chief Executive, founder and largest shareholder is Alex Langsam. Langsam is a non-domiciled taxpayer, registered as living in Austria for tax-purposes since 1999.[2]
Acquisitions
- The second purchase in 1981 was a council owned derelict listed building in central Manchester (the former Watts Warehouse standing on Portland Street, Manchester). After redeveloping the unit it opened in May 1982 as the Britannia Hotel Manchester.
- At the end of 1982 British Rail sold off its hotel division - British Transport Hotels. From this sale, in 1983 Britannia bought the Britannia Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool.
- In 1987 Britannia Hotels converted an unused building in Manchester that used to be the city's C&A department store - this became the Sachas Hotel.[3][4]
- Later in the same year Bosworth Hall, a country house style hotel in Market Bosworth Warwickshire, was purchased. Bosworth Hall was in the process of being converted from a hospital/nursing home into a hotel and Britannia took over the development from the builders who went bankrupt.
- 1988 saw the purchase and vast development of The International Hotel adjacent to Canary Wharf in the London's Docklands. The hotel opened on 9 June 1992.
- A year later, Britannia took over a 187-bedroom hotel in Stockport. After a period of refurbishment the Britannia Stockport Hotel opened in 1993. In the summer of the same year the Group also purchased the Europa Hotel situated close to Gatwick Airport.
- In the following 10 years the Group went on to acquire a further 16 hotels, located across the UK, in locations such as Birmingham, Aberdeen and Newcastle.
- November 2004 saw the acquisition of four Hotels from the Grand Leisure Group. The Grand Hotel in Scarborough, The Grand Hotel in Llandudno, The Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone and The Grand Metropole in Blackpool.
- In the 10 years from 2005 to 2015 the Group enjoyed its most rapid period of expansion acquiring 23 hotels - the most recent including The Palace Hotel in Buxton and The Basingstoke Country Hotel acquired from The Hotel Collection [5][6] and the Trecarn Hotel Torquay [7] and Cavendish Hotel in Eastbourne.[8]
Events
In the mid-1980s, Alex Langsam, owner of the Britannia Hotel Group, acquired the Grade II* listed London Road Fire Station in Manchester. Proposals have been made to redevelop it into a hotel and offices, however the plans have been delayed. In 2006 it was placed on English Heritage's register of "at risk" historical buildings.[9] The city council has attempted to compulsorily purchase the building[10] but on 29 November 2011, it was rejected.[11]
In 2008 as part of the Capital of Culture celebrations, a musical based on the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool, written and directed by Phil Willmott, Once Upon A Time At The Adelphi ran at the Liverpool Playhouse from 30 June until 2 August.[12]
In early 2014 Michael Palin and Mark Addy were filmed within the Grand Scarbrough Hotel for scenes for the BBC drama Remember Me (TV series).[13]
Awards/Nominations
- In 2011 Britannia won the category of 'Most Group-Friendly Hotel Chain or Group' in the Group Travel Awards.[14]
Controversy
In 2005 and 2006 the Grand Hotel in Scarborough and the Adelphi were investigated by the BBC.[15][16]
In 2007 the Britannia hotel in Stockport was listed on TripAdvisor as among Britain's dirtiest.[17] Whilst others have been prosecuted, for example Coventry [18] and the Britannia Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool.[19]
In 2013 the chain was successfully prosecuted for putting guests and construction workers at risk of asbestos fibre exposure at the Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone.[20]
References
- ^ Britannia Hotels Ltd, Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2011
- ^ http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/hotel-boss-alex-langsam-loses-800185
- ^ http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/tours/tour4/area4page69.html
- ^ http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/manchesters-lost-shops-readers-share-8676904
- ^ http://www.buxtonadvertiser.co.uk/news/local/new-owners-for-landmark-buxton-hotel-1-7308704
- ^ http://www.christie.com/en/news/2015/06/15/britannia_hotels_continues_expansion_with_two_hotel_acquisitions_18465
- ^ http://www.rustourismnews.com/?p=45567
- ^ http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Business/Britannia-Hotels-acquire-5.5m-Eastbourne-hotel
- ^ "All-action station". Manchester Evening News. 11 February 2006.
- ^ Alex Langsam Breaks Silence Manchester Confidential Sept 9, 2010
- ^ "Manchester council loses £700,000 bid to force sale of London Road Fire Station". Manchester Evening News. 29 November 2011.
- ^ "Adelphi Hotel Play". Retrieved 2012-07-24.
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2561354/Michael-Palin-films-leading-TV-role-20-years-frail-pensioner-supernatural-drama-Remember-Me.html.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ http://grouptravelawards.com/2011-results/
- ^ "Hotel rejects 'theft hotspot' tag". BBC News. 2006-07-26.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/yorkslincs/series7/dirty_hotel.shtml
- ^ Paul R Taylor (2007-09-12). "'Dirtiest hotel' fined £36,000 | Manchester Evening News". menmedia.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-30533792
- ^ "ADELPHI IN COURT OVER DROWNING; Hotel denies two safety breaches. - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
- ^ http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/northwest/news/450963-britannia-hotels-slammed-over-asbestos-case.html
