Resident Hotels names Jane Bentall as chair
Jane Bentall is to join hotel operator Resident Hotels as chair, overseeing the group as it moves into its next phase of growth.
Bentall spent more than 20 years at Bourne Leisure, where her roles included group finance director and managing director of Haven, before the company's 2021 sale to Blackstone. She holds non-executive positions at Safestore, Oakman Inns & Restaurants and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and has replaced former chair Robert Peto.
She said: "Resident Hotels has that same generational ethos I enjoyed when working with the entrepreneurial families at Bourne Leisure. When owners take a long-term view, the decisions they make around how they treat people, whether it's team members or guests, really matter. When I came into this company and started talking to the team, I knew this was a family business with the right culture.
"For me, the most important detail is to remember that you are there to deliver on the needs of guests. And if you are really clear on what they are looking for, and what they will value, then delivering against that expectation is the absolute key. The focus of running a hotel should not be about making profit but delivering on guest expectations; profit will be a consequence of providing a brilliant experience through brilliant people."
Resident Hotels added Sleeperz to its management stable last year, after owner Mactaggart Family & Partners acquired a majority stake in the budget brand. The group is looking to expand through leases and management contracts as well as with development projects, acquisitions and joint ventures in the premium budget hotel market, targeting city-centre hub locations.
David Orr, chief executive of Resident Hotels, said: "Its fantastic Jane is joining us. The strength of culture within Resident Hotels resonates within the teams at HQ, the hotels and with the ownership. Jane's stellar business career is testament to the vision with which she has led. We share her belief in creating a business which brings out the best experience for both our teams and our guests because that also delivers commercial success."
William Laxton, chief executive of Mactaggart Family & Partners, added: "Jane has invaluable experience in helping companies flourish, with an eye for operational detail and great clarity of vision. Jane has taken the reigns from Robert Peto who has been a fantastic guide as chair and the shareholders and the whole team are delighted that he is staying on as a non-executive."
In late 2022, Mactaggart Family & Partners, refinanced some of its hotels with NatWest. Mactaggart Family & Partners is the operating platform of real estate private equity firm Western Heritable.
Resident Hotels operates nine hotels, five as the Resident (four in London and one in Liverpool), three as Sleeperz in Cardiff, Newcastle and Dundee, with a Cityroomz in Edinburgh. The brand's sixth location is due to open in Edinburgh in 2024 with plans to add 1,500-2,000 rooms over the next seven years.
Sleeperz and Cityroomz have been managed by Resident Hotels since September 2022 and are positioned as premium budget hotel brands. Plans for the growth of these brands will be announced "in due course".
