Seen as a hallmark of quality, luxury and ‘away from home’ relaxation, there’s nothing quite like a swimming pool to give a hotel the edge over its competitors. In fact, research suggests that leisure club facilities rank in the top three buying decisions when people book hotel stays. “Good swimming facilities are very important in terms of attracting and retaining guests,” comments Justin Andrews, Director of Leisure at Kew Green Hotels. “This is especially true for our hotels near family attractions.
We know that leisure facilities and in particular the swimming pool are a significant part of the buying decision.” Justin oversees the group operations, management and commercial performance of the leisure facilities at Kew Green Hotels’ 23 properties. The majority of the swimming pools within the group are at least 15m in length and many of the hotels also have saunas, steam rooms and spa pools. Each hotel General Manager, with the support of a dedicated Leisure Club Manager, assumes responsibility for the management of the leisure club at their individual property and look after the day-to-day pool plant operations.
They also have a separate company called H20 Chemicals, who conduct the bacteriological testing and Kingfisher Poolcare who are the nominated pool plant servicing contractor. Says Justin: “Our biggest overheads are our staffing and utilities, as is true for the majority of pool operators. “We have no plans to build any new facilities in the near future – most of our facility upgrades that we have planned came about through the natural deterioration of facilities and pool plants over time. Our schedule of capital investment is therefore very much focused on maintaining what we have to a high standard.”
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COMPANY CONTACTS :
BARR + WRAY Tel. 01418 829991 www.barrandwray.com
BEST WESTERN Tel. 01904 695 400 www.bestwestern.co.uk
GRAYFOX SWIMMING POOLS Tel. 01427 788682 www.grayfoxswimmingpools.co.uk
KEW GREEN HOTELS Tel. 0208 334 4830 www.kewgreen.co.uk
NATARE CORPORATION Tel. 0207 566 2187 www.natare.com
RED CARNATION HOTELS Tel. 0207 201 3506 www.redcarnationhotels.com
