Jurys Inn chain to be rebranded as Leonardo hotels
The Jurys Inn name is to be retired after almost 30 years with all its hotels due to relaunch under its sister Leonardo brand this autumn.
All 35 Jurys Inn properties will make the transition at the end of the year as part of a wider expansion plan for the business.
Jurys Inn was merged with Leonardo Hotels in 2017 when Israeli-based Fattal Hotel Group and Swedish investment company Pandox acquired the portfolio for £800m.
Leonardo Hotels now has 16 properties in the UK and Ireland and is aiming to increase its number of bedrooms by 10% per year.
The first hotel under the Jurys Inn name opened in Galway, Ireland in 1993, although the business traces its roots back to a guesthouse launched by William Jurys in Dublin in 1839.
Jason Carruthers, managing director of Jurys Inn and Leonardo Hotels UK and Ireland told The Caterer "the time was right" for the change and it was better for all the hotels to be "under one banner" as the group expands.
He said: "It gives us so many advantages that we wouldn't have with a split portfolio of hotels."
The wider Leonardo Hotels business is one of the fastest growing hotel groups in Europe and will have 145 hotels in 83 cities across 13 countries when the rebrand is complete.
Carruthers said the change would allow customers to access benefits such as the international loyalty scheme and give staff the ability to work overseas within the group.
He said the company would be able to open multiple hotels in key cities under the suite of Leonardo sub-brands, including the premium Leonardo Royal and Nyx lifestyle brand, rather than having just one Jurys Inn property in each location.
Major investment
Over the last four years, the group has invested just under £100m in new openings and refurbishing hotels in the UK and Ireland.
This has included a £13.9m refurbishment of the 312-room Manchester Midland hotel and a £34.5m upgrade of the Nyx Hotel London Holborn and Leonardo Hotels at London City, Tower Bridge and St Paul's.
Carruthers said Jurys Inn and Leonardo Hotels was in a "good place" coming out of two difficult pandemic years and that business levels had returned "more quickly than anticipated".
"Domestic demand is static but at a high level, and we're starting to see improvement in international travel in places like London, Edinburgh and Dublin," he said.
"[It's] not back to normal yet but certainly the trend line is the most positive I've seen it over a two year period, and over the summer looks quite strong."
The group has an active pipeline of new properties planned in various cities, including Nyx hotels in Dublin and Liverpool. Plans are progressing for a 125-bedroom Nyx site in Edinburgh's Old Town next year and a 100-bedroom extension to the rebranded Leonardo hotel it will connect with.
A Leonardo hotel will also launch in Manchester this spring with a ‘Jenga-inspired' block exterior design.
Carruthers said the group was "very ambitious" in its expansion aims. He added: "I would like us to be one of the leading mid-scale operators in the UK and Ireland and the fastest growing hotel chain in Europe.
"We are owner operators and that platform works well as we have people involved in the business that are making the direct decisions that affect our performance. Maintaining that structure [as we expand] is really important."
