Interview: Armin Schroecker, general manager of the Langham Hilton
The general manager of one London’s top hotels has pledged to continue with its refurbishment programme despite the drop off in business due to hostilities in the Middle East.
Armin Schroecker, general manager of the Langham Hilton, said it would press ahead with the renovation of its rooms, bar and restaurant area.
The hotel has seen a drop in occupancy of 10-12% compared with last year, but Schroecker said the hotel had to be ready for the expected increase in customers when the war is over.
“This is an opportunity for us to make the improvements during a quiet time,” he said.
“I have been through a situation like this before. I was running a hotel in Egypt when terrorism led to a drop off in business, but we carried on making improvements and we had a new hotel when the business returned.”
The Langham Hilton has a long running programme of improvements and Schroeker said it would spend around £1m on changes to the hotel this year.
“The hotel is the most traditional Hilton property in London and we want to keep that ambiance and traditional feel in our refurbishments and offer five-star service,” he said.
The property was opened in 1865 and was London’s first ‘grand hotel’.
He said occupancy was currently running at around 60-62% at weekends and around 50-55% during the week. Around 70% of its clientele are foreign visitors, but the proportion of Americans staying at the property has fallen from 35% to around 23%.
The cheapest rack rate is around £175, but rooms are currently available for around £140.
The hotel varies its rates for different markets around the world. “The groups coming out of China and Japan are price sensitive rather than value sensitive, but our rates do not vary enormously between markets,” said Schroecker.
“Everyone has to be more flexible during a stagnant market. Confidence is quite fragile but we have a lot of enquiries for people to come in May and June,” said Schroecker.
“London is expensive compared to other cities and I think hotels will have to continue to be flexible to attract business.”
Schroecker, who has worked for Hilton for around 30 years, said competition was particularly intense during the current climate.
“Everyone is competition, whether it is a small hotel or the Churchill or Landmark hotels.”
He said the Langham’s position north of Oxford Circus made it more difficult to attract leisure travellers in the summer.
“We are not
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