NH unveils at FITUR details of its strategy to transform the Company
Brand segmentation, repositioning and asset rotation, efficiency and IT systems transformation are the key elements of the new NH Hotel Group |
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NH unveils at FITUR details of its strategy to transform the Company
Brand segmentation, repositioning and asset rotation, efficiency and IT systems transformation are the key elements of the new NH Hotel Group |
Category: Worldwide - Industry economy
- Hotel projects
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2014-01-30
• NH has presented the new umbrella for its brands NH Collection, NH Hotels, nhow and Hesperia, clarifying its value proposition for each consumer
• The company will invest more than 200 million euros over the next five years in refurbishing its hotels and maximising the average price of its main business segments
• The plan aims to increase the quality of the Group’s portfolio by adding more than 70 hotels in strategic markets to offset the exit of hotels with low profit margins or that are not aligned to the new NH standards
• A complete overhaul of the website and changes to the hotel management platform and centralised booking system are some of the initiatives that NH will introduce in 2014 to improve the functionality, stability and competitiveness of the company’s IT systems
• NH Hotel Group Rewards is the new loyalty programme that seeks to enhance the guest experience during each stay through a new range of advantages and exclusive services for members
The NH Hotel Group has unveiled the details of the strategic lines of its five-year plan, which it has set in motion over recent months, at the International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR). The plan is the result of the company’s new vision, which aims to ensure that consumers always ask if there is an NH Hotel at their destination when travelling for business or leisure. In order to achieve this objective, NH has drawn up a realistic schedule to be implemented in two stages, the full economic impact of which will be effective by 2020. The first phase, spanning the next three years, entails implementing a new business model while the Group aims to grow most intensively during 2017 and 2018.
The NH Hotel Group has divided all the initiatives in its plan into four key priority areas for the upcoming years: carrying out a clear segmentation of its hotels under a new brand umbrella; designing a new value proposition that enhances guest experience; driving brand recognition through communications; and optimizing management and organisation capabilities, particularly with regard to the Group’s technology systems.
Making the most of its participation at the tourism trade fair held in Madrid, the NH Hotel Group has opted to highlight the key points of the five-year plan it is implementing:
Brand segmentation
The new brand architecture aims to increase consumer awareness of the different product and service options that the company intends to deliver. Along these lines, the Group has structured its hotel portfolio under the following brands:
- NH Collection, for premium hotels located in major capitals across Europe and America. This category seeks to surprise guests by surpassing their expectations.
- NH Hotels, for three or four-star urban hotels for guests who demand an excellent location with the best price/quality relationship.
- nhow, for design hotels that are unconventional and cosmopolitan, each with a unique personality in major international cities.
- Hesperia, for holiday hotels located in privileged surroundings.
This new brand architecture brings together the Group’s new value proposition and adapts to different consumer profiles and locations.
Repositioning, asset rotation and development
The NH Hotel Group plans to invest around 200 million euros in modernising the elements that comprise its basic hotel offer and it will also carry out a thorough refurbishment programme. In the first stage, over the next two years, the company will invest more than fifty million in totally refurbishing 37 strategic hotels across the world, as well as undertaking partial refurbishment schemes and maintenance of most of the Group’s assets.
In addition, NH has set up an efficient asset rotation policy based on maximising return on investment and strategic vision. The company is continuing to optimise its rented hotel portfolio by negotiating with owners. Moreover, after the successful refinancing of the Group’s debt, NH is not in a hurry to speed up asset disinvestment, focusing on dropping hotels from its portfolio that do not fit within the new brand structure.
At the same time, the NH Hotel Group aims to enhance the quality of its portfolio by including 72 new hotels (11,200 guest rooms) in strategic markets over the next five years. These new additions will offset the exit of hotels with low profit margins and that are not strategic for the Group.
NH intends to strengthen its European presence in Europe in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy, as well as extending its platform in Latin America in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Cuba and Brazil. This will enable the Group to achieve continued growth under a low capital commitment model and evaluate other alternative options in strategic cities.
Recent hotel openings include the nhow Rotterdam Hotel (the Netherlands), located in a spectacular building designed by the local architect Rem Koolhaas. The hotel, which combines design, art and architecture as its hallmark, offers guests the unique opportunity to stay in an architectural masterpiece that overlooks the city, with superb views of the Maas river. At present, apart from Rotterdam, the cities of Milan and Berlin are part of the exclusive nhow hotel brand catalogue to have already opened their doors. The nhow Milan Hotel, designed by Matteo Thun and Daniele Beretta, combines design and fashion to create a unique atmosphere throughout the hotel. The nhow hotel in Berlin, designed by Sergei Tchoban and decorated by Karim Rashid, focuses on design and music, housing two professional recording studios and even offering the possibility of requesting musical instruments a la carte in the guest rooms.
System transformation
Among the initiatives that NH is introducing in 2014 to improve the functionality and competitiveness of its systems, it is worth highlighting the changes to the hotel support platform in order to implement the SAP system in all the Group’s business units over the year. It also intends to change its centralised management and booking systems during the next two years.
In addition, during 2014, NH plans a complete overhaul of its website, improving its capabilities and functionalities and including improvements to integrate the company’s booking system in the new site.
NH Hotel Group Rewards
The new recently launched NH loyalty programme aims to recognise and reward regular guests and surprise them with an enhanced experience every time they stay through a new system of advantages and exclusive services for members.
The programme currently has over three million members in the company’s key markets in Europe and Latin America and a substantial increase in the number of subscribers is expected over the next few years thanks to these improvements.
About NH Hotel Group
NH Hotel Group (www.nh-hotels.com) is Europe’s third-ranked business hotel chain. It operates close to 400 hotels with almost 60,000 rooms in 27 countries across Europe, the Americas and Africa, including top destinations such as Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Buenos Aires, London, Rome, Vienna, Bogota, Mexico City, Barcelona, Frankfurt and New York.
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