David Anderson, who in November 2021 became executive vice president of Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the international management division of Aimbridge Hospitality, is increasingly optimistic due to signs of improving consumer confidence, an occupancy rebound and further COVID-related restrictions being lifted. All of this should lead to an even quicker bounce back in business, he said.
Spurred on by clear indications that people are ready to travel again, Anderson is pressing on with plans to grow Interstate’s portfolio across Europe in the next five years. “We are in a much stronger position and with more certainty than we did in 2021,” he told HOTELS in February.
More recently, Interstate was named manager for England’s first Tribe hotel, part of the Accor family, set to open at Manchester Airport in 2023. Owned by H3 Hotels S.a.r.l, the nine-floor, new-build hotel, which will house 412 rooms and suites as well as four restaurants and bars, a gym and a crew lounge for airline staff, will be located on Manchester Airport’s Chicago Avenue.
Interstate was also named manager of the Mercure Newport hotel in Wales. It was signed by owners Garrison Barclay Estates to operate the new hotel in central Newport, set to open very soon.
Addressing the turnaround in performance, Anderson said Interstate has sturdy performance in a number of key markets with Antwerp moving above 80% occupancy in December, and key UK cities like Newcastle and Birmingham also showing tangible signs of confidence and booking resilience. Interstate also has a significant portfolio in Russia, which was performing well prior to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Despite the challenges of the global pandemic, Interstate saw impressive overall growth last year and that is down to the sheer hard work and dedication of the team, our ability to quickly adapt and source new revenue streams and to provide safe environments and reassurance for customers,” he said. “Our dynamic approach ensured that all Interstate Hotels have operated fully, either open or for exclusive use business, since May 2021.”
Anderson, who most recently spent three years as CEO of Sun Ltd. (Hotels & Resorts) Mauritius and held previous executive roles with Dolce Hotels, Wyndham Hotel Group and Louvre Hotel Group, added that 2021 was a key year for Interstate as it integrated all 31 of Jupiter’s UK properties into its portfolio, opened a new Hampton by Hilton property in Canterbury and grew its pipeline for 2022/23 taking the company’s growing pan-European portfolio to more than 138 properties.
Interstate was working on a number of projects throughout 2021, including a new Holiday Inn Express property in Brussels that will open in this year and properties in Newport, Manchester and Norwich in the U.K.
“With the ongoing changes to travel guidance we are seeing signs of uplifts in demand, but also continued strength in domestic travel,” Anderson continued. “Travel restrictions have eased recently giving people more confidence to book trips. Travelers have missed out on many opportunities to get away over the last two years and will be wanting to explore again in a safe way. Likely trends include more intergenerational family trips as people make up for time spent apart due to lockdowns and restrictions, and more international travel with the return of groups and events business to our international cities such as Amsterdam.”
Anderson added that it has been really reassuring to hear from manager who are seeing a shift in demand in meetings and events. “While we have an experienced impact in Q1 due to Omicron, clients are moving bookings, rather than cancelling. One of our most popular events spaces, The Eastside Rooms in Birmingham, reports that 84% of event revenue has been postponed to later in the year, rather than cancelling outright. In person events remain in demand and important to organizations.”
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Jim Biggar
March 31, 2022 at 1:32 pmInterstate has maintained a presence in Russia for 30+ years but will they join Russian boycott?