Impact Report Hospitality Matters To Everyone
April 2022 - March 2023
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Hospitality matters to everyone We’re a privately owned collection of hotels and have built a reputation for our welcoming service levels and for being conscientious about how we run our businesses. We’ve hotels and spas, a championship golf course, cookery school and a historic pub too. Situated in picturesque market towns, our properties have rich histories and we celebrate the fact that not one of the estates is the same. We’re proud that our hotels have played an important role in history, and we’re privileged to be preserving their legacies while looking to the future by encouraging guests and members to visit us and make new memories. Our oldest hotel dates back 600 years and collectively we’ve more than 683 acres of grounds and gardens plus a further 8 acres at our newest addition, Ansty Hall. We’re creating new legacies too: Pennyhill Park, a home to England Rugby, is now a popular destination for elite sports teams with grounds, gardens and pristine pitches fit for world class teams. Our chefs have achieved and maintained Michelin stars and fronted TV shows, we’ve achieved awards for our sustainable design and practices and my family’s work was recognised with a ‘lifetime achievement’ for our lasting impact on the hotel industry. For us, hospitality is a way to educate and encourage our guests, suppliers, and team to appreciate that their time with us goes beyond a great experience. Hospitality has an important role in society and to the planet through the people it impacts and the positive changes we can all make. Hospitality matters to everyone.
Danny Pecorelli Managing Director
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Lifetime Achievement Award
In 2022 Danny, our MD, won a ‘lifetime achievement’ award from Boutique Hotelier for his lasting impact on the hotel industry.
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The first bit that counts We’ve had a good year as hospitality makes a welcome return to everyone.
Revenue growth
3.1% 18.4% up on budget
Profit conversion
8.38% conversion
up year on year
Budgeted
8.81% conversion
17.11%
LY profit conversion
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Re-invested We’re re-investing across the estates; eliminating fossil fuel reliant kit and equipment, prioritising estate management, developing new lodge accommodation at South Lodge and our biggest investment, a new hotel. Ansty Hall becomes our 7th country seat in the portfolio. Dating back to the 17th century and with 8 acres of grounds, the hotel is in a prominent central England location. We’re currently bringing an Exclusive flourish and embedding our B Corp values ready for an early 2024 launch to our corporate and private guests.
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Our framework of five In 2021 we achieved B Corp status and since then we’ve been making forward steps with the objective of achieving a 12% increase at reassessment in 2024.
Becoming a B Corp was the culmination of
of work by our family business and meant we became (and still are)
THE FIRST HOTEL GROUP in the UK to have the certification.
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When we started our B Corp journey in 2021, we hadn’t anticipated the support and scope of what we were hoping to achieve:
Across the hotels our teams have rallied and raised the roof with ideas and initiatives.
Guests and members have shared their own hacks to help.
Clients who use us for their meetings and events have become our brand ambassadors as they celebrate our focus on ESG. We’ve also seen our supplier partners follow suit and pursue their own B Corp certifications.
We appreciate and try to action every idea that’s shared with us. When you’re looking after a quarter of a million guests each year that’s a lot of momentum for continual improvement.
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We commenced our B Corp journey with a framework of 5:
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reduce, reuse, recycle
carry out due diligence on our supply chain
focus on local impact and giving to the community
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5
consider how we stack up in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion
to better our carbon roadmap
2 years in to being a B Corp and we’re sharpening our focus even further. We’ve already ticked many boxes, un-earthed some big savings and we’ve spotted more room for improvement!
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Our achievements reduce, reuse, recycle
We started with a goal to make every hotel and every department aware of their obligations to minimise the amount of waste and to look for adjustments, savings, and new ways of doing things.
With a zero to landfill policy and a target of
of our waste to be recycled; we’re rather proud about ‘how rubbish we’ve been’ over the last 2 years!
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When it comes to kitchen waste, we go into the minutiae:
Our menus are seasonal, sourced locally and we always look to grow onsite.
We eat root to flower and nose to tail and anything that can’t be used is sent for anaerobic digestion or to one of our on-site rocket composters. Any compost can then be used across the estate.
If we have any surplus food, we work with OLIO who share it with our local community.
We’ve implemented Klimato to carbon label our event and wedding menus. It’s having a big impact on clients who now better understand the CO2 implications of their menu choices.
ur spent cooking oil is processed into high quality fuel for biofuel transport. O Who said chips and frites aren’t good foods?!
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We’re on a mission to strip single use plastic out of every part of the business: Our golf club at The Manor House is a shining example of how we’re achieving this.
In all our bedrooms we’ve jilted plastic milk jiggers and we’ve swapped to larger refillable bathroom amenities from British brand Molton Brown.
For scribblers and scrawlers in our meeting spaces we’ve switched from plastic pens to seed pencils.
We’re putting our foot down in the spas too. Working with BC Software, we’re recycling flips flops into surfaces for children’s playgrounds and equine manège.
Our guardianship of our
has led to us partnering with Land App to understand the rich biodiversity and carbon sequestration potential across the hotels. We’ve now got data and geospatial mapping to help improve each estate’s carbon capture while also supporting local habitats and increasing biodiversity.
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Meet our partners X Land App At South Lodge we’ve used the hotel’s 93 acres as an opportunity to remove carbon dioxide and preserve the local West Sussex environment. Through Land App we brought technology and nature together to plan and protect the legacy of the grounds.
We planted 19,500 vines in conjunction with local vineyard and long-time friends Ridgeview. The vines include the traditional ‘Champagne’ grape varieties, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and span 6-hectares of a south-facing site. We plan for the vineyard to produce 30,000 bottles of English sparkling wine in the coming years, many of which we will use in the hotel!
We’ve added 1,267 trees and 317 shrubs over a four-acre area. With Pelegrims, a boutique skin care brand, we’re now developing our own skincare range by using vine leaf extracts.
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Habitat creation / Enhancement opportunities Proposed areas for improvements to landscape, some of which could be invested in.
The app’s also informing new guest experiences at South Lodge as we develop nature immersion activities such as forest bathing and open water swimming around our new lake and sustainably built waterside lodges.
In the past year we’ve made an intensity ratio improvement of
21% and we’ve improved our ethical choice of energy by
29%
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Future focus Based on the work we are doing within the estates we’re on track to be carbon positive by 2027 in scopes 1 and 2. This means that from 2027 onwards, our biodiverse land will sequester and store more carbon each year than our hotels emit. When we hit this landmark achievement and the plan is to consistently deliver carbon positive results in scopes 1 and 2. We also relish the challenge of tackling scope 3. In the meantime, work continues in planting native trees at Lainston House and Pennyhill Park to support their estate’s sequestration and biodiversity. We’ve nearly two acres of broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland being planted at Lainston House, as well as a new orchard of heritage apples and pears. At Pennyhill Park, there are 17 acres of moorland and dwarf shrubs going in to create and support a new habitat.
As we move to 2024 and beyond, we’re changing up a gear from REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE and reframing to
REDUCE, REPLACE, SEQUESTER AND BIODIVERSITY.
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Our achievements supply chain
We’ve been working with our suppliers to reduce packaging and delivery to a 50-mile radius of each hotel and we’re making sure we source biodegradable products. On top of this we’ve been educating our partners on our B Corp certification and our expectations of them as responsible businesses.
At Pennyhill Park we’ve gone hyperlocal with more than
80% of our suppliers for our restaurant Hillfield, within 25 miles of Pennyhill Park
Following our first suppliers’ day we’ve joined Sedex who aim to make suppliers’ aware and aligned with our B Corp commitments. They’re encouraging our suppliers’ to share their ESG policies and mitigate risks out of our supply chain.
At Royal Berkshire we’re honing our supplier partners with 70% of our annual spend now with organisations who are within a 50-mile radius.
Some of our partners have achieved B Corp certification including OLIO and Ridgeview Wine Estate. As testament to the value that businesses are putting on ESG, we’ve also seen some of our event clients become B Corps too. OrangeDoor, Centrus and Travel Places have all joined us in the movement for business as a force for good and making their meetings matter.
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Meet our partners X Guarantee Laundries Laundry featured high on the list to see how we could reduce both the number of deliveries and the amount of packaging. Guarantee Laundries, a fellow B Corp, were fully on board with our needs as well as already being an environmental supplier.
Our partnership has resulted in better quality stock and more linens in our housekeeping inventory which also means we can service bedrooms quicker. Our deliveries have been reduced and by specifying no plastic packaging we’ve saved miles of plastic as well as miles on the road! We’re keen, clean and we’re green!
Future focus Our programme of pushing for ethical and responsible practices in our SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT will continue.
We are holding our second suppliers’ day with a larger group of companies, as well as bringing in external speakers to educate and influence. We look forward to continuing the dialogue to drive forward standards and deliver positive impact throughout the supply chain.
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Our achievements
giving back to the community Our hotels aren’t just beautiful places to soak up the atmosphere and experience a fantastic time, they’re a hub for many communities through the jobs they create. For some years Exclusive Collection has been at the heart of the hospitality industry and when we became a B Corp, we formalised our commitment to the sector by making Hospitality Action our social impact group charity. Also, as guardians to so many acres, we made Protect Earth and Bug Life our company wide environmental charity partners for the year. We set in stone at our board level that annually we donate 2% of our profits to our company wide chosen charities through sponsorships, cash, gifting vouchers and supporting with our time.
We’ll have donated nearly
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As well as our group wide preferred charities, each hotel has a nominated local partner meaning we touch many lives and charities in the community.
Lainston House X Trinity Winchester
South Lodge X Chestnut Tree House
Pennyhill Park X Camberley All Night Café
£7,940
£5,132
£1,511
The Manor House X Alzheimer’s Support Wiltshire
Royal Berkshire X Sebastian’s Action Trust
Fanhams Hall X Always Bee You
£4,003
£6,470 £3,601
We also get involved in community and educational activities and have put a number of sixth formers through their paces in readiness for university interviews. We rally at promoting hospitality as a career, jump at the chance of speaking to hotel and catering schools and are supporting two key hospitality educators:
We’ve put our stamp on a bedroom refurbishment at Wivenhoe House which is a partnership with the prestigious Edge Hotel School, one of the UK’s leading hotel schools.
At Eastleigh College, Hampshire, in partnership with the Savoy Education Trust we’ve sponsored a new kitchen for their hospitality students to learn and practice in.
Our 35K investment will help train tomorrow’s chefs and kitchen talent.
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Meet our partners X Hospitality Action Hospitality Action helps everyone who works or has worked in the UK hospitality sector by giving advice and support if times get tough. The charity was a lifeline to many during the pandemic and continues to help our sector’s people whatever their challenge.
Over the years we’ve run marathons, stepped out to support charity walks, we’ve cycled to France and our leadership team has bussed tables. It’s a unique charity that understands the unique needs of our sector.
Future focus GIVING is a continued focus for us and we will be carrying out events and activities to continue to support our company wide charities, as well
as each of the localised charities our hotels have chosen to support and champion.
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Our achievements
diversity, equity and inclusion People are our biggest asset, and we recognise that a team with good compensation and a happy and supportive working environment is the start of a memorable guest experience.
We’re focused on our teams’ welfare and are a Living Wage employer.
We have strong development plans with a focus on promoting from within. For some years we have been praised for our apprenticeship schemes, Graduate Academies and Chefs’ Academies that have produced world-class chefs.
Consistent communication are our watchwords and we ensure everyone is given the opportunity to attend a team meeting.
We have a company app, Hubbub, which shares each hotel’s social activities, special offers and discounts from local brands and companies. It highlights employees’ good deeds, as well as giving Qudos to employees of the month.
The app has (this is for 2022/2023)
and over the years we’ve had 16,580 posts and 23,329 comments! 63% of our people are actively contributing and 37% are happy reading what’s going on.
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When it comes to good deeds it seems we’ve a cohesive team! There’s been 2,708 commendations for great teamwork!
Attention to detail
8.9% Challenge
8.7% Character
6.9% Consciousness
2.7%
Most recently we completed our first annual DE&I survey, to give us a better understanding of the different voices that make up our team. We’re very aware there’s plenty of scope for improvement and through our anonymous survey we‘re committed to creating a community of employees who feel trusted, valued and that they belong. We had a completion rate of 84.3%
Creating happiness
16.6% Generosity
10.3%
Best of all our NPS score hit 91.08% “ I would recommend Exclusive to friends and family as a great place to work”
Future focus Hospitality attracts a diverse workforce that can often be transient. Our aim is to bring a sense of BELONGING to working with Exclusive Collection.
We want every individual to shine and to feel confident. We want every individual to develop and learn and most of all we want them to feel like they’ve found their tribe. We will be kicking off these efforts with our Happiness Charter.
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Our achievements carbon road map
Through robust measurement and information, we’re lightening our impact on the planet and the communities around us. This is a huge area for the business as it spans how we cook for our event guests and Michelin starred diners, how we heat more than 500 bedrooms, keep our spa treatment rooms cosseting and event spaces temperate for thinking to be done and decisions to be made.
We’ve hit our target of an annual energy reduction of We’ve achieved a 2% reduction in carbon emissions, water usage and waste generation. Any electricity we do purchase is from renewable energy sources – it may even be electricity that we have been responsible for in our recycling programme! We’re hotting up on using Biomass energy too and even the pellets we choose are as close to carbon neutral as it’s possible.
At Exclusive Collection we heat more than 500 bedrooms
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0.06
Location-based
March 2022
0.05
March 2023 0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01 0.00
Intensity ratio (tCO2e/rooms booked)
0.035
Market-based
March 2022 0.030
March 2023 0.025
When we talk about the performance of the business we’ve added a new terminology to reflect our eye on emissions. We’re measuring our intensity ratios – the number of rooms booked. And we also track the type of energy we’re using.
0.020
0.015
0.010
0.005
0.000
Intensity ratio (tCO2e/rooms booked)
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Environmental Impact Summary 2022/2023
Kwh Gigajoules
Gas: 13425156
Gas: 48, 331
Biomass: 1516399
Other fuel: 5150282
Electric: 8387553
Biomass: 5, 459
Other fuel: 18, 541
Electric: 30, 195
Total consumed: 28,479,390
Total consumed: 102,526
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Environmental Impact Summary 2022/2023
5%
18% Biomass Our pellets come from Scotland
Other fuel The bad stuff we are working hard to remove and reduce
30%
% of Consumption
Electricity 100% renewable
Gas
47%
Electric
Other fuel
Biomass
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Meet our partners X Klimato We’ve partnered with Klimato to highlight the carbon footprint of each dish on our corporate, wedding, and private event menus. In detailing the footprint and impact of each dish on our menus, we are helping event organisers to make more informed menu decisions for their events and make a greater contribution to their own organisation’s ESG policy.
Clients can now better understand and choose more conscientious catering options, report on their decisions and contribute to Klimato’s carbon certified offsetting projects.
Future focus The road to being carbon neutral is long and we’re definitely using a sound CARBON ROAD MAP to get there.
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Moving matters forward We will continue to build on the steps we’ve made in the last year with our framework for the coming 12-months tweaked to Reduce, Replace, Sequester and Biodiversity
Supply Chain Management
Giving
Belonging
Carbon Road Map
Through continued custodianship of the estates we’re responsible for we will ensure that we use our business as a force for good and that
Hospitality matters to everyone
PENNYHILL PARK London Road Bagshot Surrey
SOUTH LODGE Brighton Road Lower Beeding Horsham West Sussex
THE MANOR HOUSE Castle Combe Chippenham Wiltshire
LAINSTON HOUSE Woodman Lane Sparsholt Winchester Hampshire
ROYAL BERKSHIRE London Road Sunninghill Ascot Berkshire
FANHAMS HALL Fanhams Hall Road Ware Hertfordshire
DANNY PECORELLI
Managing Director & Occasional Pot Washer Exclusive Collection, Executive Office c/o Pennyhill Park, London Road Bagshot GU19 5EU 01276 478432 | exclusive.co.uk