Recently in Hotels Category

The Savoy has confirmed the news we've all known about for some time - it has delayed its re-opening until 2010.

On the phone to the hotel's general manager to get a quote on the story, one of Kitchen Rat's colleagues was rather taken aback to hear the choice of hold music.

Thriller by Michael Jackson. Yes, the Michael Jackson who sadly passed away just a few hours ago in LA.

Was it deliberate we wondered?

Probably not if the reaction was anything to go by. "You're joking? We'll have to look at that..."

Perhaps they should look at the Man in the Mirror and Beat It before making such Bad and Dangerous musical choices. There will be Blood on the Dancefloor.

The exclusive Barnsley House hotel, haunt of Gwyneth Paltrow, Liz Hurley and Elton John is the latest to be hit by the crunch.

It's a gorgeous 17th century Cotswold stone pile, near the town of Cirencester, with two pubs, the Village Pub and the Catherine Wheel also under the same ownership. Rooms were priced between £295 and £570.

But all these factors were not enough to save it from administrators KPMG, now running the business for Barnsley House Ltd.

The 70 full- and part-time staff running the hotel are threatened with job losses.

Hotel insolvencies soar as hoteliers face tough 2009 >>

Hotel revpar forecast to plummet by 19% in 2009 >>

It was a bold gambit but today marked the "retirement" of the Purple Hotels brand.

The Real Hotel Group had dared to dream big with Purple and had plans to challenge the likes of Premier Inn to the budget hotel crown. Ultimately it was not to be, and the deployment of "comedian" Lenny Henry proved too much to contend with.

Still as purple-favouring popstar Prince might summise, it could simply of been a sign o' the times, but either way the sale of its three remaining leases today to Travelodge marks the end of this particular economy adventure.

Purple owner the Real Hotel Group (Real Hotel Company) collapsed into administration at the start of this year and appears to be being sold off piecemeal by the administrators with little chance of rescue.

Still, the parting shot that can be found on Purple Hotels's website - borrowed from US author Mark Twain - serves as a fitting epitaph and cautionary tale for us all.

It reads: "A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain."

Farewell Purple Hotels, farewell.

Focus Hotels safeguards 500 Real Hotel Group jobs>>

Black holes and revelations with RHG's Michael Prager>>

Budget hotel spoiler?>>

You can imagine the board room conversation between Alan Parker, the current chief executive of Whitbread, and his right hand man Patrick Dempsey: Parker:

"What are we going to do tonight then Paddy?"

Paddy: "Same thing we do every night Parker, try to take over the world!" At least that's what Dempsey revealed at the Arena event at London's Dorchester hotel today.

Dempsey made no bones about the fact that his main ambition was to one day be at the helm of the "largest budget hotel operator in the world".

He added that the group are looking to the Middle East, where there are currently four to five hotels under development, and India, where there are two.

However, he also said that the company would be opening just four pubs next year, and not 13 as was originally planned, a reflection of the tough conditions the pub industry is facing. Will Premier Inn work all over the world? Thoughts please...

Never ones to miss an opportunity (particularly if it involves jumping on a marketing bandwagon) budget hotel chain Travelodge has written to the speaker of the House Commons to inform them of the savings MPs could make by forgoing their second homes and staying with Travelodge instead. The tongue in cheek plea, a side swipe aimed at the naughty parliament minister Mr McNulty who has claimed £60,000 since 2002 for his second house in his Harrow constituency, the same place his parents live. Tsk tsk...

But hope is here in the shape of a budget bedroom. According to Travelodge, the average cost per MP for their second home allowance is £17,693, but staying at Travelodge London Southwark Monday to Thursday nights whilst Parliament is sitting would cost a maximum of £10,065. You do the maths.

The group also suggests that MPs obtain a Business Account Card, to "secure further discounts" as well as being able to accumulate Argos Reward Points, which will allow them to "furnish their constituency homes without spending any further money".

Perhaps it should also offer budget porn in the hotel rooms for Jacqui Smith's husband? It certainly would be a Room with a View.

Made you look!

Yes, this was just one of the April fool's jokes making the rounds today. The viral email clip launched by pod-style hotel chain Yotel, appeared to show a Russian-made Mil V-12 used as the first ever flying hotelicopter (see what they did there?)

The flying five-star, alas, was a spoof advertisement posted online by an "expert" calling himself Alvin Farley (aka Yotel's head of marketing).

He claimed to have spent five years modifying the helicopter which was said to have had 18 luxurious rooms, queen sized beds, a mini bar, wireless internet, DVD player, whirlpool bath and room service.

But it later emerged that the interior shots were lifted from pod-style hotel chain Yotel's website.

Spokeswoman Jo Berrington said: "It's a little bit tongue in cheek and we are just having some April Fool's day fun but we are always looking at other options for hotel rooms."

Watch this, er, space.

It's easy for older folks to get written off these days, especially if you're beyond the baby boomer generation. Unless of course you're Bill Marriott. The great-grandfather of three and son of the all-American hotel chain's founder JDubya, is definitely still going strong and keeping up with the times, as proved by his blog, which we stumbled across recently...

We are still unaware as to how much Rocco Forte are asking for.

Browns recently underwent a £24m restoration and is home to Mark Hix's Albemarle restaurant.

It joined The Rocco Forte Collection of luxury hotels on 3rd July 2003, but it will be interesting to see if and when it leaves it, and at what price in the current market...

Will Denizen, the new name for Hilton's boutique hotel brand, supposedly rivalling W et al, prove to be a major success and culmination of months of planning by former W-man Ross Klein, or will it be a prime example of what critics of the global brands getting their hands on boutique hotels fear - concepts by boardroom consensus? Check out the Denizen website - wait for it citizens of the world - till 100 in fact, before your corporate video begins. What do you think?

The former Dakota Hotel in Nottingham has been rebranded as the first of a new boutique hotel chain - MourHotel.

MourHotel is a new take on boutique in that it's USP - so it claims - is that it's a sensory hotel.

The owners, headed by chairman Russell Allen, plan to have 12 sites up and running within the next six months and have an initial development fund of £120m.

Ken McCulloch's Dakota brand went into liquidation last spring.