RBH Hospitality Management has been selected by leading European investment company, Covivio Hotels to manage three high-end UK hotels, following a competitive operator selection process. Marking its first continental European partnership, RBH will be taking on the management of The Principal York, Wotton House in Surrey and The Met Hotel Leeds from the 1st of October 2022. This adds a further 402 bedrooms and supports RBH's aim towards becoming the leading third-party management company in the luxury hotel market.

The signing of the three hotels comes on the back of the successful openings of The Westin London City and The Gantry London, Curio Collection by Hilton within the past 12 months. Together with this recent luxury experience, the senior team at RBH also has extensive luxury experience from elsewhere in the industry including operational, commercial, property and capital leadership of luxury hotels across the UK and internationally.

The signing of the three Covivio-owned properties also marks a significant change in the third-party management sphere, as currently few luxury properties have been managed by third-party operators and is a strong validation of RBH’s credentials in this space. The hotels bring RBH a few steps closer to its 200th hotel which they have operated; a major milestone which is anticipated to be achieved during 2023.

Excitingly, the project presents RBH with the opportunity to further demonstrate the extent of their in-house capital expertise with a separate appointment for the RBH capital team, led by Chief Technical Officer Gregor MacNaughton, to oversee the full capital refurbishment of The Met Hotel Leeds.

David Hart, CEO of RBH Hospitality Management, said:

“This marks one of the most significant achievements in RBH’s growth in recent years. Developing a new partnership with Covivio Hotels, given their unparalleled reputation both here in the UK and across Europe, will be instrumental in our plan to disrupt the luxury market and we see significant further growth potential with Covivio Hotels over the coming years. Overcoming our competition to manage these three properties is testament to the extraordinary experience, track record and enthusiasm of our team and we can’t wait to get going.”

Tugdual Millet, CEO of Covivio Hotels, said:

“This new partnership with RBH to directly manage 3 of our top upscale hotels in the UK is a demonstration of our flexibility to lease or operate hotels in order to maximise performance and value relying on a solid hotel operator. RBH's expertise and knowledge of the UK market as well as our common values around hospitality led us to enter this partnership.”