Whitbread, a British leading hospitality company has announced that it had entered into a joint venture agreement with Emirates Group to launch the UK’s leading budget hotel brand, Premier Travel Inn in the Gulf region.
This will be the first move to expand the Premier Travel Inn brand beyond the UK where it currently operates over 470 hotels with more than 31,000 rooms.
The joint venture has initially identified three sites in Dubai to build Premier Travel Inn hotels, creating more than 800 new rooms for business and leisure travellers seeking high quality budget hotel accommodation. Room rates are expected to be in the region of AED 400.
The first Premier Travel Inn in Dubai is planned to be a 300-room hotel at Dubai Investment Park, scheduled to open in the last quarter of 2007. It will be followed in 2008 by a similar size hotel at Dubai Airport, and a 220-room hotel at Dubai Silicon Oasis.
Premier Travel Inn’s entry into Dubai and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) will fill a gap in the region’s hotel market by providing a high quality budget hotel product. The Premier Travel Inn joint venture complements Emirates’ existing premier hotel management division, Emirates Hotels & Resorts.
Alan Parker, Chief Executive, Whitbread PLC said: “We are very pleased to have selected Dubai as the overseas launch market for Premier Travel Inn and to have Emirates as our JV partner. Premier Travel Inn will be the first budget hotel brand to build a strong position in this part of the world, which is enjoying rapid growth in both business and leisure travel. We believe there is potential for up to 4,000 rooms in the GCC region alone over the next few years.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman & Chief Executive, Emirates, said: “Our partnership with Premier Travel Inn brings a fresh new offering of proven quality service in a hotel sector where demand is high. We are delighted to be part of this initiative which will appeal to the many business and leisure travellers who seek quality hotel accommodation, but would prefer not to pay prices prevailing in the five-star market sector.”
All Premier Travel Inn hotels feature en-suite bathroom with shower and bath; king sized beds with duvet; remote control TV/radio alarm; tea/coffee making facilities; and a spacious desk area.
The Premier Travel Inn GCC product will be to its same high UK standard and additionally the hotels will include air conditioning, a swimming pool and room service to meet the specific demands of this Middle Eastern hotel market.
Emirates has an existing relationship with Whitbread through its franchise operation of the Whitbread Costa coffee store brand in the UAE.
