Surgeons hotel has growth plans sewn up
An Edinburgh hotel that forms par t of the Royal College of Surgeons is to undergo an £ 8.5 million expansion that will increase its room capacity by about two- thirds.
Ten Hill Place is incre asing to 129 rooms from 77 currently on the back of plans to “sensitively renovate” neighbouring Hill Place buildings, also owned by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh ( RCSED) and used primarily as offices and by academics.
Operated by the college’ s commercialarm, the hotel posted record turnover of almost £ 2.7 million in its last full recorded financial year, thanks to an occupancy rate of 88 per cent. Profits are put back into advancing surgical standards worldwide.
Scott Mitchell, the college’s commercial director, said: “Our expansion will give us a greater platform to generate theprofits that go directly towards improving lives for surgical patients all around the world, including those in areas of conflict and extreme poverty.
“As t he number of visitors to Edinburgh has soared, we have been able to tap into the market and develop our reputation, meaning that the hotel is now busy all year round.
“Havinginitially targeted visiting academics, medical professionals and delegates to conferences, our customer base is now especially varied, especially during festival season and Hogmanay.”
RCSED Commercial Enterprises, which started as three people and now has about 140 staff, will rebrand to Surgeons Quarter to mark the expansion. That branding is set to complete by next summer.