According to a report in Press Association, Premier Inn said that it is due to launch the UK’s first budget hotel based at an airport terminal. The chain, owned by Whitbread, will open four hotels at the London airport with a combined capacity of 1,570 bedrooms. The largest of the new sites is a 630-bedroom hotel that will be based at Gatwick will provide guests with direct access to the North Terminal, a first for the value hotel sector.
Premier Inn has secured leases on the sites from fellow hotelier Arora Family Trust and, subject to planning permission, aims to begin a phased opening from autumn 2011. Alongside the new Gatwick hotel, the other planned sites will see launch of new hotels near Heathrow Terminal 5 and 4, offering 400 and 240 bedrooms respectively, as well as a 300 room hotel at Stansted.
Mark Anderson, Commercial and Property Director, Whitbread, said, “As air travel returns to long-term growth, we see opportunities to build our presence at airports. The success of the budget airlines has shown that there is an increasing demand for low-cost travel, which includes accommodation.”
Premier Inn will add the hotels to its existing 580-strong portfolio, which offers more than 40,000 rooms across the UK. Parent firm Whitbread, which also owns the Costa coffee chain, Beefeater and Brewers Fayre brands, hopes to add some 2,000 new rooms to its Premier Inn business in the UK and overseas this year. It recently launched a hotel in Dubai and is working on its first hotel in India later this year.
Source : ProjectsToday
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