Glasgow continues to ‘punch above its weight’ on the global hospitality stage, according to the manager of one of the city’s top hotels.
Craig Munro was speaking out as the hotel he manages, the AC Hotel by Marriott Glasgow, marked a ‘phenomenal’ first year of operation, during which it sold 59,000 rooms, welcomed 85,000 guests – and recorded profits 5% ahead of forecasts.
Since opening in November 2023, the hotel’s occupancy rates have consistently exceeded 85% – well ahead of industry averages, with rocketing tourist numbers and major events in Scotland including Taylor Swift’s concerts in Edinburgh also contributing.
Munro credited the venue’s bumper first year to it providing ‘the right package at the right time as visitors surge back to the city’.
“Glasgow punches well above its weight internationally, with first class events and conferencing facilities, major sporting events, and a tourism proposition that attracts people from all over the world.
“I’ve always said that for a hotel to succeed in Glasgow it needs to cater for every market from weekend visitors and event goers to conferencing guests and air crew – and we’ve got that right,” said Munro.
“We’ve welcomed sports teams, musicians, conference guests, dignitaries, and regularly hosted genuine A-list celebrities – particularly through the film and TV industry’s ongoing relationship with the city.
“The key has been our people. The average turnover of staff in the industry is around 40%, we’ve lost around 10% since we opened, which is almost unheard of,” he said.
“I was told recently that Glasgow is one of the only cities in the world where ‘people’ are amongst the top 5 attractions, I think that’s certainly true of AC Hotel Glasgow.”
Part of the £100m Love Loan development on Glasgow’s George Square, the four-star hotel’s ‘regenerative’ design revived the unused former Glasgow parish halls building, as well as filling a long-term gap site with its new-build element.
In the coming year, a new events space will be added to the hotel, ‘opening the door to new parts of markets in conferencing, weddings, dinners and events, and hosting large sports teams’, added Munro.
However, the wider re-development of Glasgow city centre is set to expand in 2025 – including the start of the ‘reimagining’ of George Square.
“The redevelopment of George Square and other parts of Glasgow city centre will present short-term challenges as work is done, but we are equipped to navigate them and these works will transform and elevate the city,” said Munro. “The feeling in the industry is that it will be worth it – a better Glasgow works for all of us.”
