The hotel group has grown alongside HotelREZ – and shows no signs of slowing down with ambitious plans for the next five years.
Key results
- Revenue +37%
- Reservations +23%
- Room nights +22%
(Data is year-on-year comparison for full year 2023 vs 2022)
One of the marks of a true partnership is growing together, and that’s certainly the case with Resident Hotels and HotelREZ. The independent hotel group has expanded to ten properties – six under its The Resident brand – since its inception in 2006, with our team providing sales support to help them achieve continued success.
About The Resident
Offering heartfelt hospitality, relaxed enclaves and trusted standards, The Resident has been a breath of fresh air from the time it was founded by the Mactaggart family in 2006.
Bucking the trend of many big groups, the group’s first property in London’s Kensington offered complimentary Wifi from its opening, alongside business partnerships that encouraged guests to explore authentic and sustainable local travel experiences. With six hotels under The Resident brand – four in London, Liverpool, and Edinburgh (from August 2024) – the group plans up to 1,500 additional rooms in the UK by 2030, retaining their focus on quality British design and craftsmanship.
HotelREZ has been working with The Resident for over a decade, constantly assessing and revitalising the sales support we provide as the hotel group has grown.
“I’ve been with Resident Hotels for 13 years,” said Alessandra Leoni, Head of Commercial at Resident Hotels. ”We’ve tendered several times, but always end up staying with HotelREZ due to their outstanding product offering and service.”
A profitable partnership
The long partnership with Resident Hotels has allowed the HotelREZ team to gather an in-depth understanding of the hotel group’s ambitions and business objectives, recommending and activating sales and marketing strategies to grow hotel profitability.
Said Leoni:
“In some ways, HotelREZ is a very different company today than when we first worked together. They’ve grown – as have we – but they’ve never lost the attention to us as a client. Their team provides stability and continuity. When people have left, the relationship has never been diluted by changes. Their attention to detail and knowledge of our business make them a real extension of our in-house team.
“At a basic level, HotelREZ are our GDS provider but they’re much more than that. They understand what our [commercial] strategy is, and find opportunities that work for us, such as their corporate programmes, niche marketing activities, events, and agency visits.
“Working with HotelREZ opens doors for us. They’re not only a tech company; they’re even more than a consultancy. As we’ve matured in the market as a brand, we’ve needed a wide range of support, with some hand-holding and expertise to fill gaps in our team and assist with our workload. HotelREZ has consistently provided that.”
Our thoughts
Daniel Simmons, CCO of HotelREZ, said:
“We’ve always placed high importance on relationships; it’s the best way to understand what our clients need, as well as what the agents and buyers want. This allows us to provide qualified leads and carefully match opportunities to our hotel partners.
“Our long partnership with The Resident proves the value of such relationships. They had a fabulous 2023, led by their distribution and sales teams and supported by our services and technology, and we look forward to helping secure more business and opportunities for them in the future.”
With a staff retention rate of 85% – contributing to us being named a Best Place to Work by both The Times and The Caterer in 2024 – the stability of the HotelREZ team is utilised to the benefit of all our clients.
Always room for improvement
Working with hotel clients long-term allows us at HotelREZ to really understand the properties, and ensure our business growth strategy is in line with their own commercial requirements and distribution landscape.
For Resident Hotels, a technology transformation project is next on the horizon – the group is set to switch to the HotelREZ booking engine to enhance the guest’s online booking experience.
Said Leoni:
“In 2024, we’re implementing the HotelREZ booking engine. Working with HotelREZ gives us the support we need for the change, as well as providing access to a great system.”
For more information on The Resident, visit www.residenthotels.com