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Whitbread has added 11 new Premier Inn and Hub by Premier Inn hotels to its UK and Ireland network during the 2023/24 period.
The new openings have taken the hotel group another step closer to achieving its network target of 125,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland.
New hotels in Ireland and Central London, which are two important growth markets for the hotel brands, have featured prominently in the list of new locations added during the year.
In Ireland, the business opened three new hotels in Dublin City Centre and its first Premier Inn outside of the capital in Cork, growing its presence in the country to six hotels in total and more than 1,000 bedrooms.
On the UK mainland, Premier Inn’s UK network grew in city centre locations such as Birmingham Exchange Square and Cardiff Stadium – itself the tallest Premier Inn in Wales at 19 storeys – as well as popular gateway locations such as Abingdon on the outskirts of Oxford.
In addition, Central London locations included new hotels in Camden Town, Marylebone, and Hammersmith.
The company also launched its first hotel powered solely by renewable electricity at Swindon Town Centre in October, a proof-of-concept development for the business as it works to deliver its commitments to becoming a net zero business for its own emissions by 2040.
Alex Flach, development director for UK&I at Whitbread, said: “Development is a team game, and I am grateful to everyone in the Whitbread property team and our many committed consultants, contractors, and suppliers for delivering a superb collection of new locations for our guests last financial year.
“In the year, we took Premier Inn to its most westerly location in Cork, delivered magnificent new buildings in the heart of London and other major cities, and constructed our first hotel powered solely by renewable energy, a blueprint of Premier Inn hotels to come.”
He added: “Looking down the list of new locations, it is clear how flexible we are as a business to acquiring and developing new hotels. Whether standalone, as part of mixed-use developments, in city centres or adjacent to transport arteries, we can bring our popular brands to all types of locations and will continue to do so as we expand and fulfil our network plan.”
