A new hotel concept is coming to Salford Quays
Welcome to the Good Hospitality Group’s consultation website on proposals for a new floating Good Hotel, moored at Salford Quays.
Please take a look at our plans and then tell us what you think, using the feedback questionnaire at the end of our website.
Our mission
The Good Hospitality Group is a social business. Founded by Marten Dresen in 2013 as a non-dividend company, we re-invest our profits into education, training and stimulating entrepreneurship.
It all started with a pair of shoes…
Marten Dresen was travelling through Guatemala in 2006 when he met Mirna, a girl with no shoes. He bought her a pair of Converse trainers with flames on the side that kicked off a charitable chain reaction.
Soon after meeting Mirna, Marten founded Niños de Guatemala, a charity that builds and operates schools in rural Guatemalan communities.
In order to generate a sustainable income for the charity and to create quality jobs for the children that graduate from the schools, he then set about building a social business that could harness the human potential of those communities.
Sleep good. Do good.
We are a global hotel brand, on a mission. We believe hotels should be beautiful AND have a positive impact on the communities they are in. We are a social business which means we reinvest our profits to educating children and retraining locals to give them jobs in hospitality. Choosing to stay with us means you'll get to sleep in stunning hotels in some of the most exciting destinations while also doing good.
SLEEP GOOD
Every Good Hotel is made for a great night’s sleep. We find interesting buildings in great locations and we repurpose them so that every room is cleverly designed to maximise space and style. Our pared back, minimalist interiors focus on comfort and community. And our oversized communal spaces have a great mix of quiet spots to work and open areas to meet fellow travellers.
DO GOOD
Every time you stay with us, you’re doing good. We’re a socially responsible business, which means we don’t pay out dividends, rather we reinvest our profits - to doing good. In each of our locations, we help long-term unemployed locals find work. And educate children. We look for innovative ways to build and run socially responsible hotels, and always make sure we treat our people right.
We have been successfully operating hotels in London, Antigua, and Guatemala City, since 2015.
More than a hotel, we build community centric hubs that provide local guests and local communities with a space to interact, enjoy, learn and give back.
Our Training Programme
Right from the beginning, we realised that by organising our Good Hotels around training, we would not only be fixing a staffing problem in hospitality; but would help the community in a hugely impactful way.
We believe that brilliant hospitality can be found in everyone, regardless of their background. We work with local councils to give long-term unemployed people the opportunity to join our first-class hospitality programme. After graduating from our four-month training course, every student has the chance to work full time at the Good Hotel or at one of our carefully chosen partner hotels.
The Good Training Programme has been highly successful, including in Newham in London, our first UK base. Working in partnership with Newham Workplace, we have created 60 training positions on average per year since 2017, with over 70% of trainees going on into further employment.
The future is floating…
We have taken our Dutch expertise in vessels and our hotel operational knowledge to imagine and design a new way of building the hotel of the future.
Minimising construction and environmental disruption, the structure is built in a shipyard in the Netherlands and towed into its final location in one piece.
Our floating hotels are adapted to climate change, being fully flood resilient and immune to extreme rainfall.
A new floating hotel at Salford Quays
Building on our impressive track record, we are now excited to launch our Good Hotel brand at Salford Quays, bringing something completely different to the local hospitality industry.
Salford Quays is a thriving tourist and commercial destination, home to a wealth of cultural attractions including MediaCityUK, The Lowry, IWM North and many more. Within easy reach of Manchester city centre and some of the UK’s most iconic sporting destinations, it is an ideal location for our innovative Good Hotel concept.
The new purpose-built floating hotel will contribute to the continued regeneration of the Salford Quays area and will become a new landmark at the North Bay. Comprising of 180 stylish hotel rooms, the hotel will also include a welcoming open plan living room bar/restaurant open to both the public and hotel guests. A team of hospitality professionals needed for successfully operating the training facilities and hotel services will be recruited locally.
On-site construction will be minimal and will be limited to the installation of two mooring piles and services connections, which should cause little to no disruption to local businesses and residents. The newly designed hotel vessel is being built offsite in a shipyard and will arrive completely finished.
Site area with surrounding amenities (click to enlarge)
Floor plan (click to enlarge)
Reaching the site sustainably
Located immediately to the north of the Lowry Theatre and a 2-minute walk from the MediaCityUK Metrolink stop, this is a highly sustainable location for a new hotel. Guests will be advised that the hotel is car-free when booking their stay and will be provided with details of local public transport routes and public car parks.
Secure cycle parking for both guests and staff will be provided within the vessel and there is additional short-stay cycle parking already provided across Salford Quays.
The access point for people unloading deliveries from vehicles will be provided from a point accessed from the existing footway on the service road to the north of the Lowry Theatre. Deliveries will be kept to a minimum and scheduled via a booking system to minimise disturbance to others.
A social heart
We are already talking to Salford City Council about the role that our training programme can play in working with unemployed people from the local area and helping them into long-term employment.
Our highly successful Good Training Programme in London runs four sessions per year with an average of 15 trainees per intake. In Salford we will need to establish relationships with local partners and build up our programme, but over time we will look to reach similar numbers as the hotel’s business grows.
Have your say
We want to play a positive, active and long-term role in the local community at Salford Quays.
Before we submit our planning application for our new floating hotel, we wanted to share our plans with local residents and businesses and invite your feedback.
As part of our Dutch culture, we like to take the personal approach. To provide your thoughts, you can complete our feedback questionnaire below or drop us an email at consult@goodhotelsalford.co.uk.
But if you prefer, please pick up the phone and speak to our Project Manager Mark van´t Klooster on 07432 159604. Mark would be more than happy to tell you more about how we work and answer your questions.
Project Manager, Mark Van´t Klooster
The consultation close on Friday 9 August 2024.
Depending on the duration of the planning process, we could be looking to bring our purpose-built Good Hotel vessel to Salford Quays in Autumn/Winter 2025.