Clare and Naveed, London Rock
Launched in the wake of the pandemic, London Rock Partners entered the hospitality arena at a moment of extraordinary upheaval — and extraordinary opportunity. With a consultancy model rooted in commercial clarity, cultural revitalisation and guest-focused service, the group has swiftly earned a reputation for transforming underperforming boutique venues into competitive, community-embedded destinations.
In this exclusive interview, we speak with the team behind the firm’s standout project: the revival of The Winchester Royal Hotel. From reimagining brand identity and empowering frontline teams to embedding the hotel within the fabric of the city, their approach offers a compelling playbook for post-pandemic resilience.
We delve into the challenges they inherited, the strategies that drove guest satisfaction scores from 3.8 to 4.3 in under a year, and how London Rock Partners is shaping a new standard for boutique hospitality — one that starts with people and builds toward lasting impact.
You launched London Rock Partners in the midst of a global crisis for the hospitality sector. What gave you the conviction to start then, and how did that shape your business model?
It was very much conviction rooted in opportunity. This was a chance to demonstrate how third-party broader insight and expertise, and a fresh business model could bolster the resilience of venues facing one of the sector’s greatest ever crises.
From the outset, our approach was focused on a lean, consultancy and advisory model. We prioritised sales and revenue generation with modular services to adapt to the client’s evolving needs and a people-first culture, which we knew was going to be the sector’s biggest legacy from the pandemic.
In many ways the crisis was a reality check for a lot of venues, exposing vulnerabilities in traditional hospitality models. But it also created a rare chance to pause, rethink and rebuild the sector with greater resilience, purpose and creativity — an ethos that underpins London Rock Partners.
You speak about reimagining hospitality culture, starting with the people. How do you approach staffing and team culture differently, especially in the boutique market?
People are at the heart of the experience; a team run on poor pay, long hours and low job satisfaction will never deliver to the standards we and the guests expect and deserve. We’ve always prioritised a fair wage and a culture that moves away from hierarchies and gives the wider team on the ground more autonomy in their decision-making — which you need in a fast-paced 24-hour industry.
At the Winchester Royal, expectations are high and meeting this demands a culture that motivates the team and breeds confidence. Crucially, our recruitment process focuses on attitude, emotional intelligence, passion and intuition. Our teams are diverse, with a mix of backgrounds and skillsets, which not only enriches the internal culture but ensures stronger connections with our international clientele.
Your transformation of the Winchester boutique venue is a compelling example. What were the biggest operational or reputational challenges you inherited, and how did you overcome them?
We inherited a stunning venue steeped in history — dating back to the 16th century — which was architecturally striking and in a prime location, yet it was underperforming both operationally, commercially and reputationally.
A diluted brand identity, high staff turnover, supply chain inefficiencies and a guest experience that did not match the venue’s potential were the most pressing issues — as well as the need to forge stronger links with the local business and tourism sector.
As well as updating the public areas, bedrooms and event space, we introduced a new management team, peer-led training, frontline empowerment initiatives and improved feedback reporting. The hotel now plays a part in key events in the city calendar, including the summer book festival, which we believe has really enriched the proposition.
The rise in guest reviews from 3.8 to 4.3 within a year is impressive. What specific strategies or touchpoints do you believe had the biggest impact on the guest experience?
Thank you — we’re proud of that turnaround because it hasn’t been driven by gimmicks, and far from a short-term boost, the results have been consistent.
As well as some needed investment, we must credit the strong team now in place and a shift in mindset that recognises that service in hospitality is more about relationships than transactions. As such, the focus — throughout the ranks — is on autonomy in decision-making to best respond to the needs of guests on the ground in the most personalised way possible.
Boutique properties often struggle to evolve while maintaining heritage. How did you balance modernisation with local character when refurbishing the Winchester hotel – particularly the event space now known as The Old Silk Mill?
Balancing a modern update with a venue’s significant heritage is always a delicate balance, especially in an historic city like Winchester. Guests expect authenticity and usually have an interest in the venue’s past, so we need to capitalise on that without labouring the point to such an extent it starts to become contrived. The building has strong ties to the local area’s textile heritage, so it was a natural move to christen the revived event space, The Old Silk Mill, and use artworks that feature images of fabric and textures.
Many owners fear external management may dilute their brand identity. How do you work with venue owners to retain their unique vision while boosting efficiency and profitability?
The most important point to make is that we would never impose a generic, one-size-fits-all operational blueprint on anyone. Our portfolio is diverse and every business we work with is unique, which means the systems we introduce must fit the particular rhythm of the venue.
Perhaps there can be a perception that asset managers operate in isolation, but on the contrary, we collaborate with the businesses on creative, commercial and cultural decisions. External management should feel like a partner that understands the business implicitly while driving business return.
In terms of competitive performance, what metrics or benchmarks matter most to you when turning around a boutique venue, and how do you track success?
Success is measured across three core pillars: commercial results, guest sentiment, and team culture — all anchored by key questions:
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“Is the business healthy and scaling smartly?” – measured by core financials.
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Guest Experience – “Are we creating loyalty-worthy moments?” – measured via our Guest Satisfaction Score (GSS) from internal surveys and third-party tools.
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Team Culture and Retention – “Are our people proud to be here?”
A high staff turnover indicates cultural or operational misalignment. A motivated team is our quickest route to consistently excellent guest feedback. We track Employee Engagement Scores via surveys and use guest feedback to monitor how often team members are mentioned positively in reviews.
The Winchester boutique venue
Can you share how you’ve used branding and marketing — such as the reimagined logo and refreshed visual identity — to reposition the Winchester property in the eyes of discerning guests?
While the property had heritage charm, it lacked a cohesive or compelling brand identity due to a dated logo and an inconsistent website. Guests were missing that all-important emotional and local connection to a sense of place.
Our goal was to create a visual and verbal identity rooted in local history by offering a curated calendar of signature ‘events’ that the hotel would become known for. The relaunch of the afternoon tea service and hosting an open-air Christmas Carol concert to celebrate the Winchester Christmas markets have both proven popular. Along with the brand refresh, these have propelled bookings and helped us deliver unprecedented food and beverage revenues in year one.
Community engagement is often overlooked in the boutique space. How has local involvement with initiatives like the Winchester BID and festivals helped elevate the hotel’s profile and guest loyalty?
Undoubtedly, without the support of the Winchester BID, Visit Winchester, and other local supplier partnerships, the journey would have been much more difficult. This support has helped us build our local reputation and develop new business streams, which in turn has led to us attracting more local guests.
Before we took over, the hotel had operated in a bit of a bubble — guests checked in and out without really connecting to the city, which was a huge missed opportunity. We wanted to embed the venue within Winchester’s cultural and economic ecosystem. This move gave us early access to local initiatives, co-marketing opportunities, and a platform to shape city-wide narratives. Rather than simply advertising local events, we chose to weave them into our seasonal programming.
Looking ahead, what do you think the boutique hospitality sector needs most — and how do you see London Rock Partners continuing to redefine excellence for struggling or underperforming venues?
The single biggest challenge in the boutique market right now is inbound travel — and for the UK to remain an attractive destination for US, Chinese and European guests. London needs to stay strong to allow the regions and key cities to feed from that demand. The tourism industry must also remain appealing to Middle Eastern guests, who help drive the high-end boutique segment.
Most importantly, boutique venues need to stay true to their identity and not try to be everything to everyone. Our success at London Rock Partners has been rooted in attention to detail. We immerse ourselves in each venue and recognise that immediate investment — often the default approach — rarely works unless you understand the root issues. These transformations take time, and you need to really understand the inner workings of the business before making meaningful, sustainable change.
