Hotelier announces he is to step down from business

Hotel in the Park

The man behind the Oddfellows boutique hotel brand has announced he is to step down from running the company.

Jonathan Slater, who owns of Oddfellows Management Company which operates the Oddfellows Hotel Collection, has announced his decision to step down from the business.

He will pass the mantle to hotel management company Bespoke to take over the running of Oddfellows Chester and Oddfellows On The Park.

The investors behind the boutique hotel collection will continue to own the hotels which Bespoke will operate under a management contract.

The new arrangement follows Jonathan Slater’s decision to move away from working full-time.

Jonathan has operated the boutique hotel brand for over four years following his retirement from his role as managing director at The Chester Grosvenor.

Jonathan Slater

He masterminded the transformation of Oddfellows Chester from a four-roomed restaurant with rooms in a Georgian townhouse to an 18-bedroomed boutique hotel with apartments.

In 2017 he launched Oddfellows On The Park, a 22-bedroomed hotel restaurant, bar and salon in a Victorian hall on a public park in Cheadle, Manchester.

He said: ‘Oddfellows are boutique hotels with a distinct personality and it has been a hugely rewarding creative process creating such a unique and interesting brand.

“I was honoured earlier this year with the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Hotel Cateys and it seems a fitting time to make this decision.

“The hospitality industry has been a huge part of my life and I will no doubt enjoy an involvement in it at some level in the future.

“I will cherish the opportunity to spend more time with my wife, my daughters – one is based in California, my grandchildren and pursue some more rigorous sailing challenges.

Robin Sheppard, Chairman of Bespoke Hotels, said: ‘We are delighted to be working with a distinctive and vibrant brand like Oddfellows Hotels.

“Our team’s priority is to ensure business continues as usual, with guests continuing to enjoy the superb service they have come to expect. They are a pair of truly original boutique hotels, and we aim to celebrate this difference.”

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