Hyatt brands to replace two IHG hotels in Manchester

Hyatt Hotels Corporation is to enter Manchester next year when it takes over two hotels in the city’s university quarter currently operating under brands from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

The 212-bedroom Hyatt Regency Manchester Oxford Road and 116-room Hyatt House Manchester/Oxford Road will replace the Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites respectively, which opened in the Lume building last year.

Hyatt has signed an agreement to operate the hotels with Ewart Manchester Properties, a majority-owned subsidiary of M&L Hospitality, from 10 January 2020.

The Hyatt Regency hotel, which will join sister properties in London and Birmingham, will feature a 120-seat restaurant, bar, club lounge, and 24-hour fitness centre; while the Hyatt House will be the first in the UK of the extended-stay brand.

M&L Hospitality said it has taken a “commercial decision” to end its agreements with IHG and Cycas, which operated the hotels. A spokesperson for the company explained: “When M&L Hospitality entered into the franchise and management agreements, the building was not yet constructed. What became apparent in the early months of operations is that the hotel needed a new brand that would better complement its unique design and position in the University of Manchester’s Campus.

“M&L Hospitality is confident that the transition to Hyatt will cause no disruption to guests, employees and partners. It has the full co-operation of both hotel operators to ensure a seamless handover and guests remain the top priority.”

Felicity Black-Roberts, vice-president of development Europe, Hyatt, added: “Hyatt has been focused on growing its brand presence in the UK, and with Manchester being one of UK’s most important commercial centres, this is a milestone. Manchester is also a destination that is increasingly gaining popularity with leisure travellers.

“The location by the university will allow the Hyatt Regency and Hyatt House brands to capitalise on two very different, but important, market segments by allowing guests to choose the right setting for their needs.”

A spokesperson for IHG said: “We have a positive relationship with M & L Hospitality, with a number of successful IHG branded properties across their portfolio. We are naturally disappointed to see these brand changes but look forward to working with M & L Hospitality to deliver great guest experiences in our other locations.”

M&L Hospitality, which owns 19 hotels worldwide, said that it continued to maintain a “strong working relationship” with IHG and Cycas, with it portfolio of 19 hotels worldwide including four IHG branded hotels in the UK (Holiday Inn Express Aberdeen Airport; Crowne Plaza Aberdeen Airport; Holiday Inn Stratford City London; and Staybridge Suites Stratford City London) as well as three Cycas managed hotels (Holiday Inn London, Stratford City; Staybridge Suites Stratford City London and Hyatt Place London, Heathrow Airport).

The Lume references both the ‘loom’, a nod to the city’s textile history, and the university’s ‘alumni’ including Alan Turing, Howard Bernstein and Arthur Stanley Eddington.

Hyatt currently operates six hotels in the UK, with a seventh – the 153-bedroom Great Scotland Yard hotel – due to open next month in London under the company’s Unbound Collection. A Hyatt Regency is also set to open in Edinburgh in 2021.