New hotel reveals guests flocking to experience Gloucester's culture

A new hotel in a small UK city is unusual these days, especially in one not famed for its tourist draw. But Gloucester’s Indigo Hotel had 1,000 pre bookings. Have we been underestimating the city?

Dear readers,

I hope you had a good week.

Below is our take on a story reported elsewhere as a simple hotel opening. As usual, look beyond the press release and a bigger picture comes into view.

In this case, that bigger picture is pretty positive indeed, especially when we’re talking about a sector lumped in with hospitality - which has received more than its fair share of worrying headlines of late.

The question we wanted to know was why on earth has a major hotel chain decided to buck the general trend of investing mainly in London, and some of the UK’s major cities, and come to Gloucester? And why did it get 1,000 pre-bookings before it even opened. What did it know that we didn’t?

If I told you people wanted to come to Gloucester for the culture it offers, would you believe me? You should. Apparently it’s true.

Special thanks to Ryan Moore, from county-based accountants Randall & Payne, for some expert insight into what’s going on in the hotel sector in the county. It may surprise you…