Sopwell House forced to pass on rising costs to customers

Sopwell House in St Albans, Hertfordshire, has been forced to increase its prices in the wake of increased wage, energy and food costs.

For the year to 30 October 2022, the 128-bedroom hotel’s parent company AB Hotels reported an increase in turnover from £9.87m in 2021 to £16.95m, and an increase in pre-tax profit from £887,576 to £2.39m.

According to documents filed with Companies House, the property saw “significant” wage inflation while also experiencing the impact of industry-wide staff shortages, as well as “huge” energy cost rises and “unprecedented” food cost inflation, which the business said had “put pressure on our margins and led to many of the price increases that we have had to pass on to our customers”.

The director’s report said investment into the property’s Cottonmill spa helped to drive leisure business and “enabled price rises to be tolerated by customers in the wake of huge increases in our running costs”.

“Numerous energy saving initiatives are being implemented and explored, alongside extensive conversations with our energy brokers and suppliers to work on lower unit costs and lower usage overall,” the report added.

Owner Abraham Bejerano bought Sopwell House in 1986. The Bejerano family previously owned several hotels under its AB Hotels umbrella, including the George hotel in Leicestershire, sold in 1983; the Chesterfield hotel in Derbyside, sold in 1988; the Arch London, sold in 2018; and Five Lakes Resort Colchester, sold in 2021. Today, just the original Sopwell House sits within the AB Hotels brand.