Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf

Introduction

This report will give an overview of the Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf that is located on West India Quay alongside London’s thriving financial district that is Canary Wharf. The building overlooks the Thames River and incorporates a modern contemporary interior design, and an Ancient Egyptian inspired exterior design distinguished by its flared patinated copper cornice that was designed by the Renton Howard Wood Levin Partnership. It is easily accessible by public transport; the London Underground’s Jubilee and DLR lines (Docklands Light Railway) are a ten minute walk away, and Thames Clipper Boats depart frequently from the adjacent Canary Wharf Pier. It is also just 15 minutes away from London City Airport as well as the O2 Centre (Telegraph.co.uk, 2013).

Target Market

The hotels location in London’s booming financial district which makes the hotels target market mainly business travellers who are visiting the financial headquarters in Canary Wharf, although it does also receive a high number of affluent leisure travellers particularly during weekends and the holiday season. Events held at the O2 arena also have a big impact on the hotel’s occupancy, and often celebrities featuring at the events stay here. During the midweek almost 100% of the guests are business travellers, whereas at weekends on average a quarter of the guests stay for leisure purposes. However, Canary Wharf and Canada Square are evolving rapidly which is increasingly attracting the higher end leisure market to the hotel as new retail, restaurants and bars are constantly being opened. The management therefore say they don’t rely on a single market of guests, however, although the hotel can accommodate children, it lacks the services that make it ‘family friendly’ such as babysitting services (Cameron, M. 2013), so there is no doubt that it is primarily a business hotel.

Competition

Their largest competitors include The London Marriot Hotel West India Quay, Radisson Blu Edwardian New Province Wharf Hotel, and the two Hiltons: Hilton Canary Wharf Hotel, and The Hilton Dockland Riverside. Of these the Marriot Hotel is its biggest competitor in perspective of room numbers and the fact that it shares the hotels most valuable asset- its location (Marriott.co.uk, 2013).

Service Offerings

Accommodation Facilities

Across the 10 smoking and non-smoking storeys of the building, there are 142 spacious guest rooms which feature modern American black walnut furnishings, and large bay windows with cream leather seats. Amenities found in bedrooms include an in-room safe large enough to accommodate laptop devices, a multiline telephone, complimentary basic internet access, a mini-bar, and daily newspapers. There are also