Conversion Brand Magnuson Hotels Launches in the UK

Main Photo: The Magnuson Hotel Marina Cove, Florida

Date: April 2021

Location: HQ in the UK…Global brand now Launches in the UK

Name: Magnuson Hotels

No. of Keys: 65,000 hotels on it’s booking platform

Owner: Thomas and Melissa Magnuson

What did they do: Headquartered in London, conversion brand Magnuson Hotels has over 65,000 hotels in its booking system worldwide and is now offering UK hotels the opportunity to join.

Magnuson offers independent hotel owners access to global brand support at a lesser cost than traditional franchise chains. The company’s hotels typically see 50 per cent of business direct, 30 per cent through OTAs, and 20 per cent through GDS.

When the UK hotel industry was in lockdown, Magnuson’s booking system outperformed the US market by three times.

CEO Thomas Magnuson said: “There has never been a better time for hotels to convert platforms to a more cost effective, supportive brand. We are the only global brand which doesn’t require PIPs, (Property Improvement Plan) just a minimum review score of 3.2 to 3.5.

“What we generally do is convert properties from an incorrectly positioned and under-priced rate range to a midscale or upper-midscale product, earning another £15 to £20 of average rate. This is accomplished without a PIP, just a highly supported strategy to leverage the owner’s existing operation.

He continued: “Before the pandemic guests were moving away from the cookie-cutter brands, influenced by companies such as Airbnb, looking for more interesting experiences which allowed them to connect with the location they were visiting. This trend will continue as people return to travel and search for lodging with more character and less corporate standardisation.

“It’s going to be extremely competitive for a long while, whether you’re an independent or a brand. To emerge sustainably from Covid, lockdowns and the new competition, hotels will have to increase revenue, increase distribution and lower costs. We tick those boxes with affordable global distribution and the highest industry performance.”

Magnuson Hotels was founded by Thomas and Melissa Magnuson. The company stands as a top 20 global chain and customer groups staying at Magnuson include construction, transportation, medical, government and public safety.

The consortium was set up in the US in 2003 and launched to the UK market in 2010, initially offering commission-based membership. The Magnusons said they have adapted their offer for the 2021 UK hotel market based on what they have learned over the last 10 years, having relocated their global headquarters to London.

The consortium has also changed its membership model, which now has fees of around 3.5% of gross room revenue for independents using the platform without branding, while the branded platform has a 6.5% fee. “The model in the UK has changed because the breadth of our support and our technol­ogy and services has changed,” co-founder and chief execu­tive Thomas Magnuson told The Caterer.

The new Magnuson Cloud platform combines a web-based price management system, channel manager, central reser­vation system, direct global dis­tribution, automated revenue management and pricing func­tions.

The platform has been config­ured to the UK market, including through offering a distribution network to help hoteliers drive consistent revenue by targeting local government, public safety, transportation, business travel­lers, construction and medical sectors to help hotels rebuild their business base post-pan­demic, while also connecting to OTAs on their own negotiated commission rates, The Magnu­son Cloud and revenue teams also cover hyper-dynamic pric­ing and forecasting.

THPT Comment: Magnuson is a hybrid, somewhere between an OTA, marketing consortium and hotel brand…in fact five brands…Magnuson Hotels, Grand, M Star, By Magnuson and Independent Collection.

First Seen: Boutique Hotelier and The Caterer

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