Word: beecham
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...They've picked the right place to stress-test budget lodging concepts. The average cost of a London hotel room is $234 a night, making the city one of the priciest in the world. Beecham says it was his personal experiences as a consumer - specifically, his distaste for what he calls "rip-off" charges for things like phone calls and movies - that inspired him to go into the business. He built a traditional hotel, but lowered costs by making careful choices in siting and design. Rooms at the Hoxton are all 20 sq m in size, roughly 20% smaller than...
...Several successful European entrepreneurs are working on answers - and their novel approaches to issues such as room size and pricing could change the travel industry. One of these fledgling hoteliers is Sinclair Beecham, co-founder of the U.K.'s Pret A Manger sandwich-shop chain, who last autumn opened the 205-room Hoxton Hotel, which he calls an "urban lodge," in London. Urban lodge? Unlike a Shrager-inspired boutique hotel, where cool, sleek design often comes off cold, Hoxton Hotel has the homey comforts of a rural inn. Yet, says Beecham, "It's got concrete floors, exposed columns and exposed...
...Hoxton's phone and movie fees are rock-bottom, and the only thing in the minibars is a carton of milk and two bottles of water, all free. Yet the Hoxton doesn't feel cheap. Rooms include touches such as Egyptian cotton sheets and duck-down duvets. Beecham calls them "beautiful little boxes people can stay in." Standard rates start as low as $115, and the typical traveler pays about $190 a night - roughly 18% less than the London average. Since opening, the Hoxton has been 100% full. "If it was twice the price, there would be nobody here," Beecham...
...contrast to Beecham's somewhat orthodox business model, the Yotel is downright radical, attempting to pack guests into much smaller spaces than Western consumers usually encounter. Woodroffe says he was influenced by Japan's capsule hotels, which feature rooms little bigger than the sleeping compartments on trains. Yotel's "pod rooms" will offer a bit more space than Japanese-style cocoons. Still, they're not for the claustrophobic. The largest are just 10.5 sq m, though they're tall enough for even the most statuesque of guests to stand up in. Also jammed into that space: tiny workstations...
...Still, the London crowd seems to have a head start. Beecham says he's ready to open a second hotel and is already scouring the globe for suitable locations. There's already an easyHotel franchise in Basel; two more London branches are set to open this summer, followed by others in Luton, England, and Budapest. EasyHotel has also inked a deal with Dubai's Istithmar Hotels to open another 38 in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, a third Yotel may open as soon as year-end at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. Kuwait's IFA Hotels and Resorts...