BEST Western Hotel group is set to boost its York headquarters by expanding its purchasing consortium, Beacon.

Beacon, which provides products and services to the hospitality sector, from pot plants and balloons to helping hotels upgrade their green credentials, is a sister company of Best Western Hotels, although Best Western hotels make up only 22 per cent of its customers.

It also caters for other hospitality businesses, such as golf clubs, go-karting tracks, and museums, including Birmingham’s Motorbike Museum and Chester Zoo.

Richard Lewis, the new chief executive of Best Western, part of the Interchange & Consort Hotels Group, said he is looking at ways of expanding the two businesses, which together employ 175 people at Consort House in Clifton Moor.

He said the next logical step was to look at what Beacon’s purchasing power could be doing for other areas of business, which has led to the launch of a new health-care division to translate its hospitality services into hospitals.

He said: “Hospitals are similar to hotels for people who need to get better.

“They have a similar style of operation and we are able to provide all the skills we have in hospitality to the health-care sector.”

He said they would then look to launch services, as well as products to customers, such as insurance, banking services and business consultancy services.

He said that although he did not want to guess how many jobs the expansion would create, it would mean more employment for York.

“We have just taken on a second person in the health-care division and the plan we have in place needs more people. We own the building and have another area at the back to grow into,” he said.