Oxford gears up for visitor boom
William Thomson with hospitality and tourism partners from Oxfordshire
Hospitality and tourism businesses are joining forces with Oxford concierge William Thomson to get ready for a visitor boom this summer. The founder of Ask William, Oxford’s new concierge service, is inviting hotels, hospitality services and visitor attractions to pull together and provide the best welcome ever to post-lockdown guests returning to the area.
At a launch event this week he was joined by some of the many partners sharing his mission to make Oxfordshire even more compelling for visitors, including: the Courtyard by Marriott Oxford, Ashmolean museum, Oxford Botanic Garden, Experience Oxfordshire, Tourism South East, City Sightseeing Oxford, 001 Taxis, The Oxford Artisan Distillery, restaurant No 1 Ship St, Nicholas and Harding tailors, Concierge History Tours and caterers Oxford Food Co.
Thomson and his team are representing these and many more local businesses as the area opens up. Commenting on the initiative, Louise Chantal, Joint Director and CEO of Oxford Playhouse said ‘The Playhouse looks forward to working with Ask William to help realise the full potential this wonderful city holds for visitors and tourists. After all, William Thomson is an institution in his own right!’
Until recently the Head Concierge of Oxford’s Randolph hotel, Thomson aims to use his considerable network and five-star experience to benefit hospitality businesses across Oxfordshire as they emerge from a difficult year . He is providing an out-sourced concierge service to hotels such as Courtyard by Marriott on Paradise Street , arranging goods, services and experiences for a once pent-up public now coming to stay. He explains “Many hotels do not have the benefit of an experienced concierge, someone who can delight guests by bringing them more to enjoy during their visit. By ‘upselling’ local hospitality services in this way, we will give returning guests – desperate for good times - an even better Oxford experience while helping our local hospitality and tourism businesses prosper.”
Thomson is confident that Oxford is on the brink of a visitor boom, with the UK’s lockdown roadmap suggesting social restrictions could be gone by June 21st. He said “We’ve just had a year of gloom and doom, but there’s now a real urgency for travel, treats and events. Oxford has an enormous amount to offer the public and we want our local hospitality businesses to work together to open this city up like never before.” He hopes that bringing businesses together in this way will help revitalise the local economy and give visitors every reason to keep coming back.
Ask William is signing up partners among Oxford’s hospitality businesses now. Contact www.askwilliam.co.uk at hello@askwilliam.co.uk or call +44 1865 341993 or +44 7960 289961.