Chototel has identified the United Arab Emirates as a location for its next phase of development, bringing a ‘super-budget hotel’ to the emirates.
The London-based technology start-up is set to open its first hotel with 240 rooms in Nagothane on the Mumbai-Goa highway in July, before focusing on new developments in UK, Nigeria and UAE, according to its official website.
The nightly rate is US $2 (AED7) to $5 (AED18).
Chototel is an economy hotel that uses technologies such as steel-framed dry construction; closed-loop, off-grid utility systems; microbots and big data processing to manage unmanned operations and billing; and real-time financial and cash technologies.
It uses a construction technology called light gauge steel framing, which minimises its carbon footprint by using a method that eliminates the use of bricks and wood as raw materials.
Each room is 280 sq ft and includes a 30 sq ft pantry, a 30 sq ft bathroom, a 100 sq ft multipurpose room with a cupboard, study-cum-dining area and a sofa-cum-bed.
Chototel managing director and founder Rhea Silva said: “Our model is based on an average of $3.50 (AED 13). We are uniquely positioned between social rental housing and super-budget hotels.”
The company has targeted revenues of $1 million (AED367 million) in first full year of operation, and is also planning to raise money to build 100,000 rooms in the next year.
By David Thompson
