Beds & Bars > About Us > Our Success Story

Our Success Story

Since 1958…

A street view of St. Christopher's Village hostel on Borough High Street, London.
  • 2019 - 2022

    Expanding Our Roots

    2022 - We unveiled a brand new hostel and bar in Vienna’s Favoriten district, 10 minutes walk from the Austrian capital’s main train station.

    Covid Years - When the pandemic hit and businesses had to shut up shop for the foreseeable future, Beds & Bars’ directors immediately developed the LifeHouse scheme to ensure every team member felt safe and supported through the different stages of the pandemic.

    2019 - Hammersmith Belushi's sees a major upgrade after a £450k investment. Our new and improved branch on Hammersmith Broadway has undergone a transformational refurbishment with premium technology and audio with 20 HD Tvs and London's first pull-out stadium seating.

    2019 - Three brand new websites went live to promote our three traditional London-based pubs; The Hercules Pillars, The Flying Horse, and the original St Christopher’s Inn.

    2019 - We relaunched our main St Christopher’s Inns travel website with a key focus on selling the travel experience.

    2019 - We opened our second site in Berlin Mitte, taking over an existing hostel and bar.

    2019 - Alongside our new Belushi’s venue, we opened the doors to our second hostel in Edinburgh Old Town.

    2019 - We launched a new site for our Belushi’s bar in Edinburgh, with an additional building acquired to expand our offering.

  • 2015 - 2019

    Brand Refurbs

    2018/2019 - We refurbished Belushi's at The Winston in Amsterdam with a brand new restaurant. This space is an extension to the main bar, doubling our capacity.

    2018 - Belushi's Camden was given a full revamp in 2018 after a £400k investment. With Instagrammable features and a focus on late-night entertainment, the upgraded site went on to win Best Late Night Bar in the Dusk Till Dawn awards 2019.

    2018 - Our Newquay Bar and Hostel was refurbished, where we upgraded our outdoor terrace and restaurant-area, including new beach huts on the terrace.

    2018 - Belushi's Bar in Greenwich received a full makeover equipped with HD TV screens and a top of the range audio system for enhanced sports viewing, alongside our innovative new brand design.

    2017 - Refurbishments took place at our hostel and bar in Bath to steer the Belushi's brand into the future. We wanted to keep in-line with the brand redesign updates that were taking place at the bars in London.

    2017 - In September, refurbishments were completed at our flagship hostel St Christopher's Inn at the Village in London Bridge, where we introduced London's first Capsule beds and renovated the entire bar with our new sports venue, 'The Dugout' in the basement. We also added 200 new beds in the hostel. The £7m refurbishment steered the hostel to become award-winning backpacker accommodation in the British Youth Travel Awards 2017 and 2019.

    2017 - We launched the no deposit / free cancellation model on our St Christopher’s website, allowing customers to make a booking online and pay the full price on arrival at the hostel.

    2016 - We kickstarted a brand development journey for Belushi’s, intending to innovate our product throughout Europe. In April, we completed our first extensive refurbishment at Belushi's in Shepherd's Bush based on our new brand manual.

  • 2009 to 2014

    Interpub becomes Beds & Bars

    2013 - St Christopher's Inns became the first hostel chain in the world to develop and launch an online check-in service for guests successfully.

    2013 - St Christopher's Inns, Gare du Nord opened in Paris. This is our largest hostel to date, with close to 600 beds, an atrium Belushi's bar, and a basement entertainment space.

    2012 - St Christopher's Inns and Belushi's bars opened in Barcelona, at the top of Las Ramblas.

    2012 - After years of investment and development, Beds and Bars launched an independent, online accommodation booking engine.

    2009 - The Beds and Bars brand was created to reflect the two core businesses, St Christopher's Inns and Belushi's Bars, with one parent company.

  • 2005 to 2008

    Into Europe

    2008 - St Christopher's Inns Paris Canal opened on the Bassin de la Villette. Built from the ground up and designed by architects Chaix et Morel, the site became the benchmark for 21st Century backpacker hostels around the world.

    2008 - The Flying Pig hostels in Amsterdam join the company, adding two world-renowned hostels and bars to the chain.

    2006 - St Christopher's Inns, Berlin is established with a Belushi's bar and apartment complex.

    2005 - St Christopher's at the Winston opened in Amsterdam, offering 50 themed art rooms, a hostel, bar, and nightclub.

    2005 - St Christopher's at the Bauhaus opened in Bruges, offering backpacker hostel rooms, budget hotel accommodation, private apartments, a bar, and a restaurant.

  • 2000-2003

    Into the 21st Century

    2003 - St Christopher's Inns, Bath opens, with a Belushi's bar downstairs.

    2002 - St Christopher's Inns, Newquay opened with a cliff-top Belushi's bar overlooking Towan beach.

    2001 - The first St Christopher's Inns hostel and Belushi's bar outside of London opened in Edinburgh.

    2000 - The St Christopher's Inns hostel and Belushi's bar opened in Shepherd's Bush, West London.

  • 1990s

    St Christopher's Inns & Belushi's Bars are Born

    1999 - Hostels and bars were opened in Greenwich and Camden. 161-165 Borough High Street was also added to the portfolio and would become The Village - the largest hostel operated by Beds and Bars in the UK.

    1997 - 59-61 Borough High Street was acquired and converted into a hostel with a coffee shop.

    1995 - The Grapes Inn at 121 Borough High Street was purchased and converted into a hostel with a traditional English pub downstairs. St Christopher's Inns came into being.

    1994 - The company's first Belushi's bar opened in Covent Garden, Central London.

  • 1970s & 80s

    New Pubs & First Generation Handover

    1989 - With the company growing, R.C. Knowles and Sons became Interpub.

    1989 - The Stag in Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire joined R.C. Knowles and Sons. This would be the company's head office for the next 20 years.

    1982 - Ron Knowles retired and nominated his son Keith Knowles to run the company.

    1982 - The Hercules Pillars, a Watneys lease on Great Queen Street, became the latest pub to join the business.

    1976 - The White Lion was renamed The Dickens and the Tenancy became R.C. Knowles and Sons.

  • 1960s

    The birth of Beds & Bars

    1966 - The White Lion, a Watneys lease, was added to the group.

    1966 - The Royal Oak, a Truman's pub on Glenthorne Road in Hammersmith, joined the group.

    1964 - Ron Knowles began to work for himself after taking on his first tenancy at the Queen of England pub on Goldhawk Road, West London. Ron Knowles went on to run the Greyhound in Luton under the Whitbred Tenancy, which he co-founded.

  • 1950s

    Before it all began

    1960 - Ron Knowles takes over the management of his first pub, The Prince of Wales in Holland Park, West London.

    1958 - Ron Knowles starts out with an Off License in Battersea, South London.