Describing himself as “not a strategist, but an opportunist”, Surinder Arora, founder and chairman, The Arora Group, told delegates at the Annual Hospitality Conference (AHC) 2025 that he was “optimistic about the future of hospitality in the UK”.
In a lively conversation, Arora described how he was challenging the owners of Heathrow with a bold new vision for a third runway, but also still draws up business plans on the back of a napkin.
Learning from mistakes
He said that “learning from mistakes” had been a key pillar of his career, realising, for example, that his business was “overgeared and over-trading” in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. The lessons of financial probity have stood him in good stead, with his business able to execute “nine deals for around £300 million post-Covid in cash”. He added: “It was a lovely feeling not going back to lenders.”
At the same time, his relationships with lenders have been fundamental for the business. “People will tell you that lenders will never stand by you in difficult times. But that’s not been my experience,” he said.
A recent deal which has hit the headlines is Arora’s purchase of short stay specialist Bloc Hotels, which was executed in July of this year. The purchase includes the 245-bedroom Bloc Gatwick and the 105-bedroom Bloc Birmingham, along with two further sites in the UK that are yet to be developed. “We completed the deal just after Marriott International took over citizenM,” Arora said. “I thought that we too could build another brand.”
Airport ambitions
Arora is often associated with the airport hotels business, which has stood the firm in good stead for many years. He shared some of the skills required to operate “hotels which are almost another asset class”. For example, often having to feed and provide beds for hundreds of airline guests at the last minute meant needing to keep housekeeping on site at all hours, as well as chefs. “Years ago, we even put up hundreds of British Airways customers in the ballroom of the Sofitel London Heathrow by sourcing a lot of sleeping bags at the last minute,” he said. Arora noted that the margins were tougher than ever in the segment, with airlines paying less and less to house their crews, meaning that “attention to the top and the bottom line” remains key.
As a major owner of land around Heathrow Airport, Arora is currently bidding to build a third runway at the airport, having recently submitted its plans for this to the Department for Transport. Arora is the last in the running to challenge Heathrow’s owners for this project. Arora said he hoped to “bring the hospitality experience to Heathrow” should his bid prove successful.
UK commitment
Arora said that despite the “challenging economic environment” he would continue to invest in UK hospitality. He noted that the hospitality industry was battling with issues ranging from increased National Insurance Contributions (NICs) to hikes in business rates. However, he underlined that the Arora Group would be “investing £1.8 billion in hospitality over the next three years, all of it in the UK, apart from the Sofitel at Dublin Airport that we are building, my first overseas hotel.”
He said that despite the “hills and valleys” of life and business, he continued to live by a few key rules. These include “treating your guests like royalty and your staff like family”, he said, which works as long as “your staff give 100 percent.”