A newly-opened Tyneside hotel is proving to be just the business for post-pandemic home workers – thanks to its out-of-town location.
The £7.5m Great North Hotel, at Gosforth, opened its doors to the public in May 2021 – six months later than originally planned due to Covid lockdowns.
But, while the pandemic delayed the opening, the changes it made to work habits have boosted business at the purpose-built 64-bedroom venue, owned by Malhotra Group plc.
Because along with providing full conference facilities, the hotel, on the Great North Road, is part of a wider development which includes a restaurant, The Pizza Dough Co, a coffee shop and the acclaimed Three Mile pub.
And this breadth of facilities, combined with plentiful free parking, has proved a hit with local businesses and those who work from home but need a venue for occasional colleague lunches, formal meetings and catch ups.
Close to Gosforth Racecourse and to no fewer than three golf clubs, the hotel’s owners always expected it to be popular with leisure visitors, but admit the demand from the business community has been a welcome surprise.
“When we built the hotel we created a fantastic meetings and events space, our Ouseburn Suite,” said Marcella Swindell, Hotel Operations Manager, “but given that we are at the heart of suburbia we rather presumed our focus would be on leisure visitors.
“However, we are increasingly welcoming people who are either working from home or who have adopted a hybrid working model – and who find they have nowhere to host colleagues, clients and customers.
“At Great North Hotel, not only can they use our Ouseburn Suite, which can be divided to create an intimate meeting space, but their guests can park – and charge their electric cars – and meals and refreshments can all be provided without the necessity of travelling into the city and the costs incurred by that.”
The hotel’s semi-rural setting, combined with its close proximity to the A1, has also proved popular with delegates and Marcella believes that may also be a result of post pandemic changes in behaviour.
“I think we’ve all learned to appreciate the benefits of being outdoors more,” said Marcella, “and we are used to seeing delegates heading outside for a walk during meeting breaks.
“There is no doubt that the corporate landscape has changed and we are delighted that the flexibility and variety of services we offer have enabled us, not just to survive that change, but to benefit from it.”
Day delegate rates start at £25 per person and for more information on meetings and events facilities at Great North Hotel visit https://www.greatnorthhotel.co.uk/meeting-rooms/