Face To Face: Jeremy Hopkins, the athenaeum
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Travel Daily catches up with a London hotelier to see how the market has been since the Olympics and how a hotel can stand out from the influx coming into the city.
The hotel announced a summer events programme, what is the focus of this and is it a new or an annual event? How has interest in the event been?
One of The Athenaeum’s unique features is its fabulous location. We are situated on Piccadilly, one of the world’s most famous streets, and next to the Royal Parks and Buckingham Palace. It was this royal connection specifically that inspired our summer events programme.
This year is incredible for the royal family, with everything from coronation celebrations to the birth of the future monarch. In recognition of our close proximity to everything that is going on we created our ‘Royal Summer’ campaign. We are offering guests accommodation packages, royal tours and themed afternoon teas, but at the heart of the activity is ‘The Royal Child’ exhibition created in conjunction with royal photographers Ian Pelham-Turner and Helena Chard. The exhibition showcases more than 40 carefully curated and rarely seen images of royal children from Victorian times to present day. This new event it is planned to be the first of many royal related activities at The Athenaeum and we are already developing events for the autumn and beyond. The media’s response to ‘The Royal Child’ has been remarkable, with interest coming from press and TV internationally.
What else is new at the hotel?
It is an exciting time for the hotel at the moment; we have a new management team who are bringing a great deal of fresh thinking, new levels of quality and a touch of theatre.
However most of our energy is focused on improving and refining what we already do well, things like: the Living Wall, which is now looking better than ever (and we are even adding bird boxes and insect hotels); our website, which is undergoing a major redesign to improve the online guest experience; and the food and beverage off ering, which is being refreshed. We are also getting more involved with the local business community with the introduction of some imaginative networking events.
Last year was an interesting summer for London hotels, are you now seeing the benefits of the Olympics this year and summer?
The Olympics, along with the Royal Jubilee, was an extremely positive advert for London, and it is now a city that is back at the front of people’s minds. We are definitely seeing renewed interest in the Capital from American travellers which we believe is in part down to the Olympic effect. The investment into London pre-Olympics has also ensured the city looks stunning and has some outstanding services to offer visitors. Arguably there has never been a better time to visit London and we are proud to in the heart of it all.
How are summer bookings looking for the hotel?
Summer bookings are very good at the hotel. Leisure business is playing a major part in this, and as mentioned previously there is a renewed interest from the American traveller.
What booking trends have you noticed?
There have been significant changes in booking habits over the last 18 months. Like most hotels, we are seeing more guests making last minute reservations. However, the biggest trend is that more and more people are turning to online travel agent websites to book their stay. This brings some huge benefits for us along with a few challenges as we learn to adapt. Interestingly we are seeing an increase in people turning to the phone or email to book too. This is a welcome shift, allowing us to connect with guests from the outset and offer a five star personal service from an initial enquiry.
What are your key source markets?
Around 50% of our guests come from the UK and 40% from North America. Recently our attention has turned to both the Middle East and China. Marketing activity and sales trips to these regions have worked well, and these new international guests are receptive to the quality of our product.
Luxury hotels are opening up in London on a weekly basis it seems. What have you done to make sure The Athenaeum stands out from the rest or offers a different experience to others?
We naturally provide a distinctive experience because of our great location combined with individual character and our five star friendly service. We also stay true to core values. We don’t pretend to be anything we are not or try to change our ways to simply compete with this week’s new kid on the block. The reward for staying true is our repeat visitor rate is high and to many of our guest we are seen as their London home.
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