These latest acquisitions follow the announcement of two additional sites in Liverpool and Chester at the beginning of the year. In 2012, Roomzzz saw average occupancies increase by 16 per cent, to 87 per cent across all sites.
And the Yorkshire-based aparthotel operator isn’t stopping there - it’s already in discussions with two more properties in ‘southern locations’ and is actively seeking a dynamic franchise partner for a central London site.
Mark Walton, head of Roomzzz Aparthotel UK, said: “Investors are keen to be involved as franchise partners; there’s been a well-documented success story surrounding our franchise opportunities.
Franchise strategy
“Investors are seeing measurable fast track growth year on year and are keen to be part of the brand which has shone through in the darkest moments of the current economic climate.”
Roomzzz’s franchise strategy is to feature in key city centre locations in major cities in the UK including Leeds, Manchester and more recently Newcastle with a new £6M Aparthotel (pictured). Walton says the brand is ‘holding strong’ in its pursuit of strong and desirable locations, with London now being a major focus.
“Our approach is simple - we give our customers exactly what they require when they are travelling, our rates are transparent and our offering consistent and in line with expectations.”
“Roomzzz brings with it more than just a place to sleep at night due to the fact we lean towards a lifestyle approach in terms of flexibility matched with practicality which gives us a well-rounded and feel-good aspect.
Building loyalty
“A key London site would give our customers exactly what they have been requesting - and after all that is exactly what Roomzzz is all about.”
The firm uses a loyalty card scheme to build a customer base of regular guests - the entry-level card is free to all while two further cards are awarded when people return a number of times. All three cards offer increasing levels of discounts.
"New guests and regular guests of Roomzzz are feeding back to us of their delight to experience a Roomzzz Aparthotel in multiple cities,” added Walton. “Our real time loyalty scheme is playing a huge part in rewarding guests and we're seeing huge peaks in repeat visits across all sites as a result.”
The opening date for the new Roomzzz Aparthotels in Glasgow and Edinburgh is not yet known.
The UK hotel industry is expected to see significant growth in the relatively immature serviced apartment market as the number of so-called aparthotels continues to rise. Read more about that here.