The hotel we're staying at, The Hoxton Hotel, started life as in independent hotel but was sold last year to one of those private equity funds that are a complete mystery to me so on that subject I'll say no more! So our stay isn't exactly somewhere little (it has 208 rooms) or local but in our defence, it was booked for me as a birthday present before we started this experiment. And I also wanted to blog about it because it still embodies so many of the things I admire about independent businesses.
It takes a genuine interest in it's surroundings, recommending and promoting other local businesses from shops and markets to restaurants and bars.
It looks good. They're trying to stand out from the crowd not just merge into it.
And instead of going for the lowest acceptable standard and the soul-sucking blandness of many budget chains, they've stuck their neck out a little and gone for something with a little more personality.
The rooms are comfy, with good quality linens and lovely showers. And a few quirky touches - spot the box of Pears soap on the side.
The staff are really friendly and efficient...
The original vision was to create a 'no bullshit' hotel - giving us all the stuff we need and love and taking away all the stuff that drives us crazy. So here are some of the little bonuses of staying here.
Free Wi-Fi, a bank of Macs to use when you want them and cheap phone calls....
Real milk in your in-room fridge for your cuppa but no overpriced mini bar - just stock up on what you want and bring it in with you or buy it from little shop in reception which has goodies at normal shop prices.
Free newspapers and bottled water.
And breakfast arrives in a little brown bag direct from Pret a Manger, hung on your door ready for you when you want it.
Finally, the Hoxton offers great value for money. Book far enough ahead and you can snag a room for £49 a night. A result for anywhere, let alone central London. (I've just found this rate on their website for a Sunday night in October which is the next time we might be heading down south).
All this adds up to a lesson in hospitality that's pretty impressive and resulted in record breaking profitability. So much to admire and apply to our own business!
Update: My newbie blogger skills let me down and this failed to post on Sunday morning! We're now back so I thought I'd add a little update. Our stay at the Hoxton this time wasn't quite as perfect as previous visits. Our little brown bag of breakfast failed to appear at the allotted time, although they were very helpful and sent it up straight away when we rang down to reception. There was also building work going on in the hotel and a little sign in our bedroom informed us that we might be able to hear noise after 10am. Unfortunately the hammering and drilling started at 8am. Frown. My only reason for reporting all this (which didn't really mar our stay in a great bargain hotel and shouldn't put you off staying if you're ever looking for somewhere to stay in London) is because it made me begin to wonder about the nature of growth and change. All businesses must change and adapt or become obsolete. So how do we - Britain's little & local businesses- grow, change and survive without losing who we are and that which makes us special and different? Any thoughts...?
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