Hotel Owner Hotel Owner July 2017 digital | Page 9

MONTH IN REVIEW
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EXPANSION
Apex expansion
continues in run
up to £35m Bath
hotel launch
Apex Hotels is prepared for a “boost”
to its portfolio with the opening of its
newest £35m hotel in Bath.
Making it the group’s first English
property outside of London, the
acquisition has brought its portfolio up
to 10 properties across the UK.
Apex Hotels currently has
properties in Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Dundee and London.
The 177 property will open its doors
in August and bring 130 new jobs
to the local area. It will also be the
location of Bath’s only purpose-built
city centre conference facility for up to
400 guests.
Angela Vickers, chief executive
officer of Apex Hotels, said: “This is a
significant milestone for the business
and one that we have been working
towards for some time.
“The Apex City of Bath Hotel
will be our first opening in England
outside of London and is set to be the
historic city’s largest hotel in terms of
conference and events spaces and
number of bedrooms.”
Vickers added: “Our portfolio is
stronger than ever as our presence
in key cities grows year on year. Now
the finishing touches are being put to
Apex City of Bath Hotel, we can move
our attention to new opportunities
that will continue to strengthen the
Apex brand.”
July 2017
SUSTAINABILITY
Historic Brighton
hotel goes green
by cutting ‘mood
waste’
Historic Brighton hotel, The Old Ship,
has become more environmentally
friendly by cutting back on scrap
materials dubbed ‘mood waste’.
The hotel has put a stop to its
annual practice of scrapping half of its
aluminium and rattan outdoor furniture.
Instead, it has opted for ecologically
friendly Pacific Ocean furniture, which
has been in America for some 20 years
but is new to the UK.
The furniture is made to withstand
annual damage from salt air and strong
winds, with claims that it will not rot,
split or crack and is guaranteed not to
fade, discolour or chalk.
The furniture consists of pieces made
from plastic debris sources from oceans
and landfill sites. The hotel has also
placed loveseats in its outdoor area,
made from 100,000 plastic milk cartons.
Paul Wright, general manager of The
Old Ship, said: “By opting for Pacific
Ocean, we are boosting our green
credentials in two key ways. Firstly,
our furniture is made from upcycled
material and secondly we have cut out
our ‘mood waste’ by opting for a brand
with guaranteed longevity.
“The furniture is already creating
a stir and saving on staff time spent
on cleaning and stacking. All we now
need is a marriage proposal or two
from the love seats, for the perfect
ending to the story.”
This is a significant
milestone for the business
and one that we have been
working towards for
some time
Angela Vickers, chief executive officer
of Apex Hotels
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FIRE SAFETY
Premier Inn
‘extremely
concerned’ about
Grenfell-type
cladding on its
hotels
Hotel chain Premier Inn is “extremely
concerned” about the aluminium
cladding used on three of its hotels.
In the wake of the fire that devastated
Grenfell Tower in West London
last week, the hotel chain told BBC
Newsnight that three of its properties -
Maidenhead, Brentford and Tottenham
- did not “appear to meet the required
fire standards.”
However it did clarify that the
cladding used on its hotels is thought
to have been made with a less
flammable product than the one used
on the Grenfell tower.
It said its developers were
responsible for the materials used in
the construction of the buildings.
A spokesperson for Premier Inn
told the BBC: “We are extremely
concerned to learn that they had used
a cladding that does not appear to
comply with recognised government
guidance of compliance with the
Building Regulations for use in high rise
buildings and are seeking to address
this with the developers.”
It went on to say that an independent
expert had insisted that the buildings
were safe to stay open and it had met
their “robust” safety measures.
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