Hospitality businesses in Wales face an 80% rise to £131m in business rates by 2028/29 after being excluded from the Welsh government’s reform plans, according to analysis by UKHospitality Cymru. The industry body said its modelling shows bills would increase by £19.6m in 2026/27, by £43.3m in 2027/28 and by £67.7m in 2028/29, compared with […]

Point A Hotel’s Shoreditch property has begun a full refurbishment of its rooms and public areas. News of the refurbishment comes as part of a wider push on sustainability. The hotel is targeting a BREEAM In-Use ‘Very Good’ rating, which Point A parent company Queensway says reflects its investment in responsible development and operations. The […]

City Developments Limited (CDL), through its wholly owned subsidiary Copthorne Hotel Holdings Limited, has acquired the Holiday Inn London Kensington High Street for £280m. The purchase price equates to £396,600 per room. CDL said the 706-room freehold hotel continues to perform strongly, reporting occupancy of more than 97% in the nine months to September 2025.  […]

Aimbridge Hospitality has added the voco Sandpiper All-Inclusive Resort in Florida to its portfolio, marking the first US property within the operator’s all-inclusive division. The 335-room resort in Port St Lucie – owned by Sandpiper Bay Resort Holdings, led by Feenix Venture Partners and Ghost Tree Partners – is undergoing a £50m renovation and will […]

The Bertrand’s Townhouse is set to open in Bloomsbury on 12 December, converting three Georgian properties on Bedford Place into a 43-bedroom boutique hotel. The operator said the project is intended to reflect the area’s early 20th Century cultural heritage and the work of philosopher Bertrand Russell, after whom the hotel is named. Designs reference […]

The teams behind the Old Bank Hotel and The Store have launched essentially Oxford, a digital platform designed to promote independent, luxury-led businesses across the city.  The initiative brings together hotels, restaurants, retailers and cultural organisations and presents them through an editorial format. The platform highlights locations to stay, dine, shop and visit, with a […]

The Lemon Tree hotel and restaurant in Wrexham has been brought to market for £1.35m. The Lemon Tree is an 18-bedroom hotel with a 70-cover restaurant. The venue operates from a Grade II listed building dating from the 1860s, converted into a hotel in 1982 and refurbished and renamed in 2010.  The current owner, Sam […]

Valpas has joined the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance in a move the group said will support efforts to advance safe and sustainable practices across the global hotel sector. The Helsinki-based company certifies hotels as bed bug-safe and pesticide-free, using in-room technology that provides digital proof of safety for guests. It now has more than 300 […]

Andrew Stembridge has been appointed an ambassador for the Accessible Hospitality Alliance (AHA) as the organisation seeks to advance industry-wide efforts to improve accessibility and inclusion. Stembridge is executive director of Iconic Luxury Hotels and has held senior roles across the sector.  A graduate of the University of Strathclyde, he later completed executive development programmes […]