The company, which manages 26 Mercure hotels across the UK, five Dragonfly hotels and one independent, has spent the last three years revamping and repositioning its Mercure estate to ensure it meets customer expectations.
Alongside refurbishments Jupiter Hotels has developed new F&B offerings, including the opening of its first Marco Pierre White branded restaurant - Marco's New York Italian - at the Mercure Leicester and changed the product offering to suit demand and audience. For example, MICE spaces at the Mercure Edinburgh City were converted into bedrooms.
Work has included:
- The refurbishment of the Mercure Leicester, The Grand Hotel, Mercure Newbury, which re-opened last month. The hotel's bedroom corridors as well as the renovation of the ground floor, including the restaurant, bar, reception and fitness room.
- The refurbishment of Mercure Newbury, Elcot Park Hotel. Completed in June 2014, changes included a renovation of the hotel’s public spaces and restaurant and included the creation of The Percy Shelley Suite, designed specifically to cater for people looking for a unique wedding or event venue. The second phase focused on bedrooms.
- The refurbishment of Mercure Burton Upon Trent, Newton Park Hotel in November which included the transformation of public spaces as well as the redesign of the William Morris Suite, which caters specifically for people looking for a unique wedding or event venue.
- The creation of 12 new Privilege bedrooms and the transformation of the largest event room at Mercure Inverness Hotel.
- The renovation of 100 bedrooms at Mercure Watford.
Harris said investing in the properties had a dual effect - it brought pride to staff and provided a better experience for guests.
“Two things make great hotels - great service and great design," he said. "Hotels need passionate and experienced staff like ours in place to ensure each and every guest has a memorable and happy experience. And secondly, great design, a priority often not given the attention it deserves.
"Design creates a unique experience that guests remember and want to return to and enjoy again and again."
Harris said customer feedback on refurbishments had been 'phenomenal' with return bookings and profitability both up on previous years.
“The impact of this strategic investment and repositioning of hotels has been significant. Clever investment and an eye to the needs of our future customer have helped transform the profitability of the hotels across our network," he said.