“Taking away a brand and becoming independent needs flexibility. Fortunately, I hate routine. I have no office and work wherever I am needed,” explains Andrew Coney, general manager – or, as one of his business cards says, chief mischief maker – of the 85-room The Hari, in London’s Belgravia neighborhood.
“This is an important turning point for the hotel. On August 31st, 2016, we hosted a street party to show our independence. In the year since, occupancy has upped 15 points to 90%, with an additional £50 (US$65) average rate. We are also up from London’s number 30 to 10 on TripAdvisor,” he said, with a characteristic grin.
Surrounded by embassies, the hotel draws week business from diplomats, plus the fashion and music industries. At weekends, any hotel under 10 minutes’ walk of Buckingham Palace and Harrod’s does well. “A quarter of total business is repeat, with the rest attracted by Preferred, and by the skill of our digital marketing expert – yes, I think she is just into her 20s and I do not understand every word she says,” her boss admitted.
The 10-floor building had opened as the Sheraton Belgravia in 1990 and converted to the Thompson Belgraves in 2012, but Thompson Hotels was practically unknown outside the U.S. Its long-time owners, the Hong Kong-based Harilela family, which has a considerable portfolio of chain hotels, decided in May 2016 to self-manage this one, possibly as a precursor of a brand named for the esteemed family patriarch, Hari Naroomal Harilela, who died in 2014.
“Aron Harilela, as responsible director, stamps a unique mark on the culture of the hotel and its people. As he writes in a booklet that all my 110-strong team have, our differentiation is elegance, culture and a juxtaposition of heritage and today’s creativity. He is with us at least every six weeks, sharing his own life, which includes family values as well as polo and tennis, and the finest food and wine,” Coney said. Locals become regulars for outstanding home-made pasta (£13, US$17), from the delightfully friendly Neapolitan chef at the all-day restaurant. Join Belgravia residents, too, in the second-floor bar, which attracts fashionistas who like its exclusivity, and edgy fashion-type wall-art.
Coney, who as a boy toyed with acting or becoming a funeral director, knows an independent hotel needs differentiators. “During a stay, guests are given a suitable book to take home. They also get brand-new penny coins – share what luck these bring and for each post we give a U.K. pound to a local kids’ hospital. My team, which has one of the lowest turnovers in London, is always coming up with ideas, say finding out guests’ interests and having personalized Monopoly boards waiting,” he said.
“I have never been happier than now”, declared the chief mischief maker, despite starting most days at 7 a.m. for a non-stop performance of networking. “Having been involved in two openings before, I can honestly say, as my gray hairs show, that going independent has been far more taxing.”