Hoteliers seek staff hostels to free up London rooms
London hoteliers are moving live-in staff into hostels to accommodate more paying guests, says property agent Knight Frank.
The firm has been instructed by two hotels belonging to different chains to find accommodation for 80 of their staff. It has already found one potential hostel in the shape of a former old peoples' home in east London.
Derek Gammage, head of hotels at Knight Frank, said many of the company's clients were considering a similar move.
Gammage said that in the past hotels would simply buy a bigger property or extend their premises if they wanted to accommodate more guests. "But there's nothing much on the market now and people are beginning to manage their real estate better," he said.
"If buying a new hotel costs £100,000 per bed, and you can create the additional rooms you want from back of house for £50,000 or £60,000, it's obvious what choice you're going to make," he added. Some hotel companies were even thinking of getting together to build a staff hostel.