A sea-front family hotel in Morecambe is gearing up for growth after its owners invested a six figure sum in refurbishing the property. The Auckland Hotel has completely revitalised its ground floor, adding a new conference and function room, as well as making a number of bedrooms larger with improved disabled access and bathroom facilities.
The hotel, located on Central Promenade, has also extended the bar area to create a more vibrant space for live music and entertainment. The family business, which caters mainly for coach tours and families, is hoping the improvements, worth £120,000, will enable it to increase bookings and take advantage in the continuing increase in domestic travel.
Lancaster-based Moore and Smalley Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors has advised the hotel on a number of business and finance issues relating to the various refurbishment projects including strategic tax advice. According to experts at Moore and Smalley, the Auckland Hotel demonstrates how hoteliers can reap the rewards of investing in their property and product offering.
Adam Parton, a director at Moore and Smalley, said: “In what remains a challenging trading environment, The Auckland Hotel has shown real commitment to its customers by continuing to invest in the business and improve product quality.
“Industry research continually shows that the hotels that continue to prosper are the ones that continually re-invest profits back into their properties and the early signs for The Auckland Hotel have been promising with forward bookings looking strong.”
Jason Bracken, a partner in The Auckland Hotel, said: “We have always strived to offer our customers the best possible visitor experience and we believe that if you get the customer service and the product offering right, then customers will want to return. We’ve had some great comments from our customers on the new rooms and other improvements and we will continue to invest in our rooms and other facilities.”
The Auckland Hotel has been established for over 30 years and is run by four family partners Valerie and Peter Bracken, their son Jason Bracken and daughter Lisa Wood. The hotel has been specialising in providing bed and breakfast accommodation for coach tours, individuals and families for the last thirty years.