LONDON A former snowboard instructor and a group of veteran hoteliers are launching a midscale lodging concept that they are calling the world’s first “alpine hotel brand.”
Called Snotels, the brand will be located solely in ski resorts and alpine towns across the world. Michael Metcalfe, a former snowboard instructor and resort executive, conceptualized Snotels after having difficulty finding quality midscale hotels when travelling in winter and summer to mountain areas across Europe, North America and Australasia.
Snotels will target alpine enthusiasts, a demographic Metcalfe describes as “cash-sound, time-poor, quality- and value-focused international and backyard explorers that want brand certainty, empowerment and simplicity.”
Snotels will be an affordable conversion brand, allowing hoteliers to implement core brand standards but with flexible options for design and operations. The Snotels executive team includes former Virgin City Hotels CEO Paul Clark, and Mike Jones, a former vice president with Hilton International.
The company is optimistically aiming for 50 properties by 2016, which hotels ranging in size from 20 to 150 guestrooms.