Whitbread PLC, the UK’s largest hotel group, has announced the launch of its new hotel concept, hub by Premier Inn. The concept is set to target major UK city centres – such as London and Edinburgh – with the first property to open on St Martin’s Lane in London in summer 2014.
The new generation of compact, city centre hotels will offer contemporary room design and excellent connectivity, appealing to customers who value price, location and design over space.
At 11.4m², guest rooms will be compact yet functional. Every centimetre is optimised in the design, allowing each guest room to offer a desk that folds into the Hypnos pocket-sprung bed, luggage storage, an en-suite bathroom with power shower, free WiFi and a 40in smart-screen TV.
hub by Premier Inn is set to be the UK’s first hotel with its own app, allowing guests to control their hotel experience by booking and checking in online, pre-selecting the room temperature and light settings, choosing which TV or radio channel will play in their room when they arrive and streaming content from their phone or tablet direct to the TV.
Each hotel will also feature a deli-style restaurant, and plans are in place to source produce from local suppliers. Guests will be able to pre-order breakfast using the hub app.
Patrick Dempsey, MD at Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, comments: “Premier Inn has played a leading role in shaping the budget hotel market, and we believe hub will do the same for a new generation of compact city centre hotels. hub will work in tandem with Premier Inn, appealing to more price-sensitive customers seeking quality accommodation in the heart of a city. It will enable us to broaden our customer appeal and further strengthen our competitive edge.”
Whitbread”has secured five sites – around 1000 rooms – to open in the next three years, and is aiming to have approximately 40 hub by Premier Inn hotels – 6000 rooms – opened or in the pipeline by 2018.
Andy Harrison, CEO at Whitbread PLC, adds: “hub by Premier Inn will reinforce the achievement of our 75,000 UK rooms milestone by 2018, and provide us with another exciting new growth platform. With substantial operating and commercial synergies from the Premier Inn network, we are confident that hub will deliver good returns for our shareholders.”
