Forte targets a premier market

Hotel group Forte is revamping the Posthouse hotel chain and preparing to launch an upmarket sub-brand worth £100m.

London brand consultancy C Eye is developing an identity for the new venture.

Posthouse Premier, a three star deluxe hotel concept, is part of a rebirth for all Forte group brands, which include the Le Méridien and the Posthouse hotel chains, plus some hotel restaurants.

Posthouse Premier will be contemporary by design, with high quality rooms and a more generous provision of space. Added extras such as conference rooms, gymnasiums, pools and a selection of restaurants are also likely to feature in the new chain. Interiors are by London design consultancy Richard Daniels.

“Our brief was to rationalise the visual identity and develop guidelines for colourways, all signage, print, electronic media and advertising, bringing a new freshness to the brand,” says C Eye business development director Mark Pinder.

The Posthouse Premier brand, applied to a number of refurbished Posthouse hotels in prime locations such as city centres and airports, will aim to improve the image of the whole Posthouse chain, competing more directly with the four-star market dominated by Holiday Inn, Thistle, Hilton and Marriot.

A Forte spokeswoman says it will be launched next spring and then rolled out. “Posthouse Premier will be the very best of the Posthouse brand. It is going to raise people’s expectations of Posthouse, but it is very much aimed at the three-star market.”

C Eye is also creating a new identity for Sampans, a Forte restaurant chain, as well as the Cumberland hotel in London.