Welsh hotel group marks anniversary with AI revolution creating 100 new jobs

A Welsh hotel group is celebrating its 10th anniversary and investing in the power of Artificial Intelligence to drive growth and create 100 new jobs.

The Everbright Group, which operates six hotels in north Wales and the North of England, says using AI is enabling them to significantly reduce costs and provide a better, more personal service for guests.

At the same time, the company is also looking to use their bespoke technology to expand further by taking over the management of other hotels under contract for their owners.

The Everbright story started in 2015 when it took over the Rossett Hall Hotel in Rossett, near Wrexham.

Since then it has also added the Llandudno Bay Hotel and the Belmont Hotel in Llandudno and the Wild Pheasant Hotel & Spa in Llangollen, along with Stonecross Manor in Kendal in the Lake District and The George Hotel in Penrith to its portfolio.

Around 300 people are currently employed across all the sites and Managing Director Lei Ma says they’re expecting staff numbers to rise to approximately 400 over the next few years.

Everbright has also won a string of awards for its pioneering approach to cutting carbon which was piloted at the Llandudno Bay Hotel.

The initiative will achieve an 84 per cent reduction in the hotel’s carbon footprint and see energy bills being slashed from £300,000 to just over £90,000.

The green revolution is now being rolled out across the whole group.

In the meantime, Mr Ma says harnessing the potential of AI will make their operation more efficient, saving money and enhancing the quality of the service for guests at the same time.

He said: “Currently, we use external providers to support our property management systems but we have realised that by creating a central, digital platform, using the benefits that AI brings, we can make everything work together.

“Previously, for example, it would take our accounting team a week or two to collate all the financial figures for the group at the month end – occupancy, revenue and costs – which is an un-necessary delay.

“Now, by digitalising our systems and using AI supported software, we’ve made the process much faster and more accurate, allowing us to abstract information in real-time.

“By integrating all the information across the different aspects of the operation into one platform, gives us accurate analysis which enables us to make better decisions more quickly. That also saves money.

“It is also helping in other areas like staff training and inductions for new employees as the software can be tailored to suit the different roles that employees can undertake.

“Most importantly, it’s going to help us to improve the guest experience which is at the heart of everything we do.

“It will give us the information to reassure us that everything is being done to deliver our business vision, so we can provide the best possible service for our guests from the time when they start searching for the hotel online to when they arrive, during their stay and until their departure.

“It sounds counter-intuitive when we’re using AI but essentially we’re create a better, more personal service.

Growth

According to Everbright, the introduction of the new tech is going to enable the group to continue to grow.

The plan is to continue to improve how they the run their own hotels and operate other hotel businesses on the behalf of the property owners.

Operations Director Darryl Shaw said: “We can help other small to medium sized businesses to operate their hotels more efficiently and more cost-effectively, making them more profitable. They can benefit from our hard work in developing the software and our investment in green energy.

“The savings we generate can be invested in making the hotels more energy efficient which in turn will lead to greater savings and profitability by creating a virtuous circle to enable other hotels to reap the benefits of the successful business model we have created.”

Mr Shaw added: “Looking back, I have always congratulated Lei on the way he protected the team during the pandemic when a lot of businesses let staff go. It was a difficult decision to make but it meant that we came out of the Covid pandemic trading on full throttle.

“It’s been a great 10 years and we are excited about the huge potential for future growth.

“We’re very lucky to have a brilliant team and that will stand us in good stead as we continue to expand. In every area we operate, we are boosting the local economies so it’s good news all round.”