Q&A: Adding boutique letting rooms to your pub

05-Nov-2014 - Last updated on 05-Nov-2014 at 10:29 GMT

A room at the refurbished Dog & Fox Young's pub in Wimbledon, south London

Many pubs are looking at adding letting rooms to their existing offer, but how do you stand out from the crowd and compete against hotels and budget accommodation? Andy Nash, operations director at Young's Hotels - which operates a group of pubs with boutique rooms in and around London - provides some guidance based on his experience.

How would you describe Young’s Hotels philosophy?

Firstly all our hotels are Young’s Pubs, delivering the very best British pubs have to offer. The hotels are designed to complement this by offering stylish and comfortable bedrooms. Staying in a Young’s Hotel combines the very best of staying in a boutique hotel with the benefits of fantastic pub and dining room downstairs.

What characterises the boutique style of room?

An elegant design with great features. Award-winning interior designers have been used to create beautiful, light and airy rooms with feature bathrooms, bespoke furniture and well-considered added touches that are relevant to the pub and local area. All the boutique rooms feature Nespresso coffee, stocked mini bar, Hypnos beds, DAB radio, air-conditioning, Sky TV packages, laptop safe, Algotherm toiletries and high-speed WiFi.

How has this style evolved over the time you’ve been in the business?

The style of each hotel reflects the pub what is at its heart and the local area – for example The Orange Tree (Richmond) is influenced by the local green spaces of Richmond Park and Kew Gardens. Our interior designers are allowed autonomy to create traditional rooms with a contemporary feel.

What do you see as the trends driving the accommodation side of pub businesses?

Corporate guests who are bored/disappointed by large chain lodge brands – they're looking for affordable but are increasingly seeking individual hotels with character. We've also seen a growth in short break leisure guests from both domestic and international markets.

How are customer expectations changing?

Hotel guests are more demanding than ever and want a customised offer. Current guest demands include high speed wifi, great coffee, pillow options and healthy menu options.

What are the key rules when it comes to marketing / selling your accommodation offer?

Adopt a flexible rate strategy. Get this right combined with links to third party websites and your rooms will be visible to an international audience.

What are the skills required to run an efficient and profitable operation?

Team leadership, attention to detail, amazing customer service, sales and marketing skills.

How do you go about maintaining service standards?

Thorough training. We also closely monitoring standards via mystery diners and ensure we closely monitor online feedback to see where we can improve.

What tips would you give pub operators looking to add accommodation to the business?

Understand your market and whether its suitable to boutique rooms or more standard accommodation. Boutique hotels are capital intensive, require attention to detail and guests demand great service, the returns will be greater but only if the offer is right. Fully understand your minimum room numbers to cover additional costs of breakfast, housekeeping and reception. Avoid operating in the ‘mid market’ as it’s very crowded. Planning permission can take forever so start early and don’t give up if you get knocked back.

What are the main lessons you have learnt?

Both the pub and hotel must complement each other: gastro-dining rooms work with boutique style rooms. Over the years our pubs and dining rooms have improved so we've been concentrating on ensuring that the pubs catch up. Invest in infrastructure at the start of the process - don’t skimp on air conditioning or bathrooms.

Andy Nash is operations director at Young's Hotels