News Summary 29/06/2009
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News summary: 29/06/2009
Scrappage scheme for holiday-homes
John Morphet, chairman of Pure Leisure Group, the owner of a chain of holiday parks and manufacturer of modular homes and lodges, is to fund a caravan scrappage scheme along similar lines to the one introduced by the Government last month to help the car industry. Anyone with a caravan over 10 years old, on any park in the country, can claim a rebate of £2,000 when purchasing a new caravan or lodge from any manufacturer on any of Mr. Morphet’s parks.
Source: Caravan Industry 06/2009
Shortage of used holiday homes
Park Holidays UK, which owns 25 parks in south and west England, says that stocks of used caravan holiday-homes for sale have reached “crisis point”. Director Tony Clish reports that sales at the firm’s parks are running at 14% above last years figures, with the greatest demand from first-time buyers.
Source: Caravan Industry 06/2009
Park home business back
Omar Park Homes Ltd has purchased the intellectual rights and trade name and subsidiaries of the old Omar Homes Group that went into administration on 2nd march. The business and assets were acquired from the administrators, Tenon Recovery of London & Manchester. They report that they received substantial interest in the business and assets and several offers were received but, after due consideration, the offer from the consortium led by members of the previous management was accepted. The new firm is headed by Paul Pleszco, the former chairman and son of the founder of the former group.
Source: Caravan Industry 06/2009
Tourism advisors
John Dunford of Bourne Leisure and David Vaughan of Park Resorts have been appointed as members of the Tourism Advisory Council which is being chaired by the Minister for Tourism, Barbara Follett.
Source: Caravan Industry 06/2009
Robin Hutson and Michelin-starred chef Alex Aitkin to open boutique hotel
Robin Hutson, the founder of Hotel Du Vin, has joined forces with Michelin-starred chef Alex Aitkin to launch a £30m boutique country house hotel in the heart of the New Forest. Lime Wood, a 30-bedroom five-star hotel in Lyndhurst, is set to open at the end of October and will consist of a main house, incorporating half of the bedrooms, as well as two pavilions and a coach house, two restaurants, a cocktail bar and terrace with a sliding roof, and a spa which will open in January next year.
Source: Caterer Search 29/06/2009
Hospitality leaders defend hotel star rating system
Hotel industry leaders have leapt to the defence of the star rating system after Jurys Inns last week called for it to be scrapped as it was “no longer relevant” to today’s customer. The budget hotel chain said that its research proved that public no longer rated the 101-year old star rating system, calling for a simpler system that reflected the modern customer’s needs. But hospitality leaders have sprung to the current system’s defence, claiming that although it is not perfect, it is more reliable than peer-to-peer sites such as TripAdvisor. Andrew Mackenzie, managing director of the Michelin-starred Vineyard at Stockcross, said “The vast majority of the hotel landscape in the UK is populated with independent hotels of very varying quality and the AA star scheme still has credibility and integrity both within the industry and with consumers.
Source: Caterer Search 29/06/2009
Revpar drops by 17.2% in the provinces
Hotel revenue per available room (revpar) dropped by 11.4% in London and by 17.2% in the provinces in the week ending 6 June 2009, according to figures from hospitality research company STR Global. London revpar declined to £97.59, down from £110.12 in the equivalent week of 2008. Occupancy declined by 3.4 percentage points, to 78%, while average room rate shrank by 7.6% to £125.08. In the same week, regional revpar fell to £45.69 (2008: £55.18) as occupancy slipped by 6.4 percentage points (to 66.4%) and average room rate decreased by 9.2% to £68.82. Cardiff’s hotels suffered a smaller decline in revpar, which fell by 9% to £43.09 on the back of a 3.7 percentage point drop in occupancy and a 4.1% decline in average room rate. Hotel revpar for the 28 days to 30 May declined by 8.8% in London (to £99.49) and by 14.2% in the provinces, to £47.15.
Source: Caterer Search 29/06/2009
Merlin looks to extend average stay at Alton Towers
Merlin Entertainments has announced plans to attract more multi-night stays at its Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, UK. Announcing its Long Term Development Plan for the park, Merlin said it plans to expand the park over the next 10 years by adding a number of new attractions each year – both family and thrill-orientated – to encourage guests to stay longer. The group is also looking into the possibility of adding more accommodation, possibly in the form of a third hotel. It will also lengthen the opening hours at the park, as part of efforts to spread visitor volume over a longer period.
Source: Caterer Search 29/06/2009
Jackson's death could cost O2 operator £300m
The death of Michael Jackson, the most successful recording artist in history, could cost AEG Live up to £300m. AEG owns the O2 venue in London, which was scheduled to host the singer for 50 nights, with the first gig planned for 13 July. The singer’s death means that not only will AEG have to refund more than a million tickets bought for the 50 dates, but the company is also faced with the prospect of having the 23,000-capacity venue empty for the best part of nine months. The last of Jackson’s 50 shows were scheduled to take place in March 2010. The largest cost facing AEG from the cancellation, however, will come as a result of AEG’s decision to self insure the 50 dates. The action means that the group will be unable to recover any of its losses. Jackson was also planning to open a casino in Las Vegas, themed around his most successful album, Thriller.
Source: Caterer Search 29/06/2009