88-bedroom hotel may be turned into student flats
RAMADA OWNER TELLS COUNCIL IT IS NOW ‘TIME TO MOVE ON’
PLANS have been drawn up to convert a prominent hotel into student flats.
Student Beehive wants to turn the 88-bedroom Loughborough Ramada into a complex with 122 rooms, common rooms, cinema, spa, gym and conference and study areas.
The firm, which already manages 450 rooms for students across the town, has submitted a scheme for the 1930s, locally listed building to Charnwood Borough Council.
It said: “The hotel provides an excellent opportunity for Student Beehive to develop its anticipated flagship building in Loughborough.”
The plan promises the revamped hotel will have larger bedrooms than any other halls in the town and more communal space.
In a letter published on the borough council’s website, the franchised hotel’s director, Jalpreet Singh, says: “We took over the Ramada Loughborough in 2015, when the previous owners were forced to sell.
“They were unable to recover the lost trade since the opening of the Premier Inn and Travelodge.
“Even as experienced hotel operators, this has unfortunately proven to be too much of a challenge.
“Even the backing and assistance of an internationally recognised brand (Wyndham) in sales and marketing support has not been enough to overturn the impact of these new budget hotels within the same area. Further to the opening of these budget hotels, the opening of the Baxter Gate leisure complex, with its numerous restaurants, has also deteriorated the food and beverage revenue from our bar and restaurant.
“Loughborough University now operates two of its own hotels and these are capturing any trade from the university directly.
“What was once a decent demand generator has also now disappeared.
“Finally, Leicester, as the largest nearby city, has seen a growth in hotel bedrooms, resulting in a reduced overspill of trade to nearby towns.
“Couple all of these factors together and the Ramada Hotel is unfortunately no longer economically viable.
“To put this into context, the previous owners were on average 80 per cent full in the early 2000s. When we took over the hotel in 2015, average occupancy was down to 35 per cent.
“We managed to initially increase up to an average of 45 per cent per cent in 2016, but occupancy has dwindled ever since to an average of 25 per cent.
“We cannot compete with the budget hotels where there is such little demand for our bedrooms. We have very reluctantly taken the difficult decision to sell the building and move on.”
The hotel has four full-time employees. Two would be needed at the proposed halls.