We spoke to Ben McNally, Director of Sales & Marketing – TRIBE Manchester Airport to get the low-down on the stunning new TRIBE property open for business at Manchester Airport.
From Italy and Indonesia to France, New Zealand and beyond, TRIBE is known for bold design, social spaces, affordability, and comfort. The brand believes in doing one thing and doing it well – rooms all feature natural daylight, very comfortable beds and well-equipped bathrooms: everything you need and nothing you don’t.
And now, the impressive communal hub has come to Bien Venue’s hometown so we couldn’t miss the chance to visit and share more with our meetings and event clients.
Thanks for having us, Ben. Let’s dig in – give us the basic overview of TRIBE Manchester Airport.
Everything is designed with visitors in mind – you can relax with friends or work with colleagues, enjoy great coffee or a signature cocktail at our bar at TRIBE Table. You can enjoy the flavours of Italy or share small plates, relax or meet before jetting off on your next business trip.
And we’re really connected to Manchester Piccadilly Station – Manchester City centre is easily reached by public transport or car, and the hotel is convenient for anyone attending meetings or events at Concord, Ethiad Stadium Old Trafford, Co op Live, the AO arena, and more.
In terms of the basics, we offer all that, too – onsite parking, fitness centre, wi-fi!
And how is the opening going so far?
It’s exciting. Our soft opening was on 7th of October when we opened with a quarter of our bed stock. So that’s 3 floors and 120 rooms. And now we’re rolling up over the next couple of months to the start of December to our full 412 rooms.
What can visitors expect to see?
TRIBE is all about the social hub – it’s about co-working and having these lovely communal spaces. So we have this open atrium on the ground floor, and reception is on the on the edge of the atrium, with our bar in the heart of it.
And then we got the restaurant with an open kitchen as well, so everyone’s all together, giving it some nice hustle and bustle. We’re sitting in the breakfast servery at the moment, and honestly, the wall treatment – I love it – the design is so inviting.
Our Italian-themed restaurant sits under the TRIBE Table brand, the in-house brand. That may change, similar to some other TRIBE locations around the world, but for now it’s TRIBE Table – and it’s stunning! We also offer a 24-hour grab & go counter with a signature menu of ready-to-eat meals, and a selection of snacks and drinks for you to pick up… even if you’re operating out of hours.
You’re selling it well to me, so I don’t think you’re going to have a problem filling it?
Absolutely – it’s been really well received by the leisure and business travel and meetings market so far. There’s an appetite for it in the market because you know what Manchester is like there – we need this capacity. There’s always a new flight route – new airlines coming. And I’ve been having great conversations with stakeholder airlines about that.
What’s TRIBE Manchester Airport’s biggest draw for the meetings and events market?
We’re not traditionally a meetings and events brand. Yet because we’re so well situated for the city, we offer great accommodation for non-residential venues. And so obviously we’ve got Concord just down the way which hosts some fantastic events – and because it’s a real headline space with that beautiful big aircraft, they do some really high-touch events and now have accommodation to support them.
And within Manchester itself, we’ve got so many wonderful venues, so much going on, we’re perfectly positioned for those that have fast turnaround that want to come in, stay a night with us, head into the city, meet during the day and then jet off to wherever they’re heading next.
It’s such a cool space as well for meetings, for small meetings…
Absolutely. We’ve got the servery is a fixed board room for 16. After 10:00am when breakfast finishes, we’ve got units on the side where that closes all the toasters and everything are hidden away. So we can host a lovely board room meeting.
The Crew Lounge, upstairs has a round table that’s perfect for discussions and training and event like that. Then we have two lounge areas with big screens. So, if you want to host that small scale think-tank type of get together, it’s perfect.
It’s a really different space!
If your soft launch was early October, when’s the official full-opening, or when can Bien Venue’s clients start to book?
We are on sale from the 1st of November. By first week of December, we’ll be fully open with our bed stock. Early in the New Year, we host our official launch events, so there’ll be more noise in the market.
It’s a great brand!
Yes, and there’s only one other in the UK at the moment, which is a Canary Wharf. The brand is absolutely bouncing in Europe. It’s doing so, so well. I think they’ve just opened their 6th one in Paris now.
Are there plans for more UK after Manchester?
So, in 2026 we’re looking at 280 beds in Birmingham. And possibly another UK hotel – not confirmed yet so my lips are sealed.
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