City's first ever five star hotel celebrates tenth anniversary

24th September 2009

Categories: Meet in Cardiff - Article

The hotel that brought five stars to Cardiff is celebrating its tenth anniversary in the city centre.
The Hilton Cardiff was the very first to open a five star hotel in Wales’ capital and 10 years on it remains the only city centre five star hotel.

The hotel is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a new set of promotions, a refurbishment and an extra special party.

General Manager Marie Fagan said: “It’s unusual to think that just a decade ago there were no five star hotels in the city centre of Cardiff. The Hilton recognised that there was a market for a five star hotel and to bring that as well as the Hilton brand was quite a coup for the city. The fact that we are now 10 years on and still going strong demonstrates that the decision was the right one.

“The hotel industry has faced many challenges over the last decade. When I took over as general manager a year ago, the recession had struck hard and it was one of the toughest economic periods the hotel had faced. There have also been more and more hotels opening up across the city. This offers customers an increase in choice and allows them to become more demanding.
“I think we have reacted wisely and effectively to the challenges and the hotel has weathered the storm.

“We have a longstanding reputation in the city and have been inventive with our promotions. As a five star hotel, we will never be able to compete on price with some of the cheaper alternatives being offered in the city but there is a significant proportion of the market that does not want to sacrifice quality for price.

“We have worked to ensure that our prices are competitive while maintaining our quality provision and service. This way our customers are still achieving value for their money without having to downgrade. If a customer feels that they have had value for money, they will recommend the hotel to others and return themselves.

“Our tenth anniversary is very special to us at the Hilton Cardiff. We have a loyal team and our staff turnover is exceptionally low for the hotel industry and it is a real cause for celebration – especially in the current climate when there is so much bad news. I think this is because we nurture the staff and help them develop so the hotel becomes a place they want to stay rather than it being a stepping stone on to the next hotel.

“Throughout the next 10 years we want to strive to continue providing the service we are today. We are outperforming the tough market out there at the moment in Cardiff because we’ve managed to build up a good reputation and we want to keep things that way. To try and stay one step ahead of the game we make sure that we thank our regular customers as these are the lifeblood of the business.

“Hilton Cardiff has consistently been ranked number one for food and beverage out of 75 Hilton hotels in the UK and to survive and thrive in the next decade these are standards we have got to be meticulous about maintaining.

“Throughout the year we grow our links with the local community through charity fundraising and events. Every Autumn the hotel holds its Hilton Foundation Charity Ball which is always a sell out and raises thousands of pounds for local charities. This year, because it is our anniversary, we are planning a blow out celebration with celebrities, fantastic prizes to auction and raffle for charity and a party bigger than any previous year. In preparation for the ball, we have also completely refurbished our ballroom including new carpets to make it look brand new again.
“We expect it to be another sell out so we know that we can’t sell any more tickets than previously, but we want our guests to celebrate the turn of a decade with us as well as raising a record amount of money for charity.”

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