City’s first dual-branded hotel on course for early 2018 launch

The first dual-branded hotel under one roof in the North is on course to open early next year in Manchester – after its newly appointed management team took part in a topping out ceremony.

Containing 328-rooms the dual-branded Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites – known as a ‘double pack’ concept – is located on Corridor Manchester and will be unveiled to the public in early 2018.

The 19-storey building, just off Manchester’s bustling Oxford Road and within walking distance of the city centre, will boast a 212-room Crowne Plaza and a 116-room Staybridge Suites.

Crowne Plaza, which will feature a 120-cover upscale restaurant, seven meeting rooms catering for over 200 delegates and a gym, is spread over 11-storeys from the ground up.

Meanwhile, extended stay brand Staybridge Suites – which is opening in Manchester for the first time – is located on the upper eight floors and will offer a warm, social and home-like environment through a mix of studio and one bedroom suites.

Both brands are part of the IHG portfolio.

Andrew Fletcher is general manager of the dual-branded hotel, which sits opposite Alliance Manchester Business School and The Royal Northern College of Music.

Melanie Thompson, formerly of The Lowry Hotel, will be the dual-branded hotel’s director of sales and marketing while Heather Tsopanou and Rebecca Unsworth have been appointed as revenue manager and HR and training culture coach respectively.

Fletcher said Manchester is following in the footsteps of great cities across the globe that have incorporated dual-branded hotels in their offer.

“After topping out the building we are delighted to now announce that the Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites will open under one roof early next year,” said Fletcher, who has 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry.

“The dual-brand double pack concept is extremely exciting as it isn’t something that has been offered to people staying in Manchester before.

“Being located just off Oxford Road, within Corridor Manchester and next to the Alliance Manchester Business School on the University of Manchester campus, gives us tremendous confidence in our offer.
“We are very different to any other hotel in the city region. What we have is two brands that very much complement each other and ultimately give people different options to what they have had before.”

The dual-branded 328-room hotel forms part of the University of Manchester’s Campus Masterplan, which includes the wider redevelopment of Alliance Manchester Business School.

It will also adjoin its new two-storey Executive Education Centre, which will provide a new home for the business school’s corporate leadership and management programmes.

Corridor Manchester is home to 70,000 students and boasts a workforce of 60,000 people – with 14,000 new jobs planned.