the 5 stars bar ***** is raising!

From Paris to London all the great palace are going under refurbishment in order to cope with the opening of new competitors raising the competition.

In paris, the 7 most famous Palaces. From the Four Seasons George V to the Crillon are all going under major refurbishment. Only in Paris, 4 new Palaces, under the direction of Asian groups well reputated for their service quality, will open soon.

London is also experiencing the same trend. The refurbished Savoy Hotel re-opened less than on year ago.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/renovated-savoy-and-other-luxury-london-hotels-raise-the-five-star-bar/story-fn44w9hc-1225905947486

"In less than two months, the Savoy will be open for business after a near three-year closure for a £220 million ($385m) revamp. MacDonald can't wait. His team has already taken reservations for the £10,000-a-night royal suite, the first time that the hotel, which has been host to Sir Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe and The Beatles, has had a suite of such sumptuous extravagance.

Soon after the return of the Savoy, which is managed by the Fairmont chain, London will welcome back the Four Seasons on Park Lane. That has been closed for the past two years while it undergoes an estimated £100 million rebuilding but is due to reopen in December.

Next year sees the opening of 45 Park Lane, a new hotel from the group that owns the nearby Dorchester, and the Corinthia, an international chain that is making its British debut. The chic W chain is also entering London next year, with a property on Leicester Square.

Further out, Bulgari will open a luxury hotel amid the boutiques of Knightsbridge while Shangri-La, one of the biggest hotel brands in Asia, is opening its first London property in the new Shard skyscraper.Claridge's and the Berkeley both have expansion plans, while Waldorf Astoria is also making a splash in the capital, with the launch this November of a property in the grounds of Syon Park in west London. All have been emboldened by the strong performance of London's most exclusive hotels during the economic downturn."
(Goodman M., 2010)

So even if the market trend of the London hospitality business is good. A Harrods Hotel will need to offer a class A, service and experience.

Nevertheless, Harrods Hotel would position itself as a boutique hotel, therefore it is not directly competing with the big palace.

The best way to compete is to be different. As Apple does it for example.