Free business tips for London hotels and B&Bs

A whole new package to help hotels and B&Bs in the capital improve their quality is produced this week by the London Development Agency (LDA). Designed to help the busy operator, Capital Stay contains practical business ideas, interviews with successful London hotels and B&Bs, video clips and quick reference ‘60-second fact sheets’ on key business topics. It is available online at www.lda.gov.uk/getgraded

Says Carolyn Smith, director of visitor economy for the LDA, ‘Millions of people visit London every year and their experience can be coloured by their hotel stay. Capital Stay is written for everyone who runs an accommodation business in London and is designed to help them keep on their toes and provide the best possible quality to their customers.’

Capital Stay is an online ‘e-book’. It looks at key customer trends and marketing, improving the visitor experience and taking advantage of London 2012. It also contains ’60-second fact sheets’ on everything from starting an accommodation business to writing a business plan, going green and benefiting from IT. It is peppered throughout with practical examples and video clips.

Says Tommy Moran of the Crown Moran Hotel in Cricklewood, ‘This book is full of good suggestions and practical help. Running an accommodation business isn’t easy and even the most successful and profitable places need constant attention. We are constantly looking for new ideas to make our business better.’

Says Mr Moran ‘We know that the more we improve the quality of our service and improve our visitors' experience, the more they are likely to return and to recommend us to friends and colleagues. Repeat business greatly improves our profit.’

Capital Stay is part of the LDA’s ongoing campaign to improve the quality of accommodation in the capital. Over the next two years the LDA is offering free business advice and a subsidy of £400 to help hotels, B&Bs, self catering and hostels to achieve a star rating in the national scheme run by AA or VisitBritain.

Click here to go back to news headlines