Aparthotel firm eyes expansion

Roomzzz, part of the Park Lane Group, already operates seven aparthotels, so called due to their offering apartment accommodation with hotel-level service, across the north of England.

However the new sites, including one near to Manchester’s Corn Exchange and another close to the former Olympic Stadium in the capital, will take the business to the next level.

The latter marks the first time the group has expanded outside of the north, with bosses having set the target of finding several more London hotels over the next few years.

The expansion comes after Roomzzz reported a 17 per cent increase in bookings following Brexit, as British holidaymakers seek out low cost city breaks in the UK.

Naveen Ahmed, managing director of Roomzzz, said: “London has been a big challenge for us, mainly due to the price of the buildings. We are looking at a site near the Olympic Stadium for a 100 apartment hotel opening in the third quarter of this year. We are really excited about it, it is near the Google headquarters. It will put us on the map in London. When people come from London and internationally, Roomzzz will become an entity that is recognised. We are currently not as well known down south but that will change. It is a great time into get into London. There is an opportunity for us to get in there.”

The good news comes as Mr Ahmed’s family marked 40 years since relocating to the UK after fleeing the East African crisis in 1976, 21 years since the foundation of the Park Lane Group and 10 years since the setting up of Roomzzz.

“We have done well here in Leeds and Yorkshire has been very kind to us, but we are now growing out of Yorkshire,” Mr Ahmed said.

“With Roomzzz we saw an opportunity and believe we were the first aparthotel in the country. The first one opened on Burley Road in Leeds which was tremendously successful.”

The business went on to open expand across the north of England.

“The backbone is corporate sector, the guys who books Monday to Thursday or Friday. The competition was a lot slower to react to the marketplace.”

The serviced apartments empire, which boasts three sites in Leeds plus Manchester, Newcastle, Chester and Nottingham, has also benefited from experiencing an increase in bookings across the group as the falling value of the pound has fuelled a trend towards the ‘staycation’.

Mark Walton, chief operating officer of Roomzzz Aparthotels, said: “We have seen a huge surge in bookings in the months following the Brexit vote and it seems that the fall in value of the pound encouraged more UK residents to look at city breaks at home, rather than abroad.

“Equally, we’ve experienced an increase in bookings from international tourists who are capitalising on their favourable exchange rates and visiting UK cities.”

“We hope accommodation providers will continue to benefit from the increased investment in the UK tourism industry as we look to open our first Aparthotel outside the North of England in London in Spring 2017.”

Today the Park Lane Group comprises the Park Lane Properties student letting business, Roomzzz, upmarket student accommodation provider IconIc, the Broadley construction group and the Leeds Golf Centre.