Starwood's Tribute Portfolio signs first property in London - The Great Northern Hotel

The Tribute brand was launched in Miami in April and hopes to sign up 100 hotels within the next five years. The new franchise sees independent hotel owners pay between 4% and 6% of their room revenues to Starwood in return for access to the group’s booking system, marketing and loyalty scheme. According to

, the owner of the Great Northern Hotel, this is a far cheaper way to sell rooms compared to generating online buzz or selling through online travel agents, such as Expedia and Booking.com, which charge high commissions. He went on to say: “We spend £300,000 a year on search engine optimisation and pay-per-click,” he told the

. Around 45% of my room sales are through the online travel agents and they take 20-21% commission. We like them, but they are expensive. Even if we do not achieve a higher room rate, I am nearly 6 percentage points up on half my income.” “The Great Northern Hotel has been established for two years,” added Robson. “We are trading well. But if Tribute had been available earlier I would have done a deal then.” The hotel is located next to King's Cross station and was London's first railway hotel when it opened in 1854. Starwood has 10 other hotels in the UK.

, head of Starwood in Europe, said: “We have a loyalty programme that is highly desirable. We know that 50% of our bookings come through SPG members and they pay a 20% premium. They also spend more when they stay with us. You can go through the online travel agents but you cannot know the customers in the same way.”