Premier Inn to open new site at Edinburgh Airport

Whitbread, the parent company to Premier Inn, has agreed terms with Riverstone Hotels Ltd for a new 200-bedroom Premier Inn hotel at Edinburgh Airport. Plans for the ground plus four storey hotel are being consulted on by Whitbread and its development partner as it works to submit a planning application to the City of Edinburgh Council in the New Year. If approved, guests of the hotel will be able to walk from the latest format hotel to the airport terminal building in 10-minutes making the site “highly convenient for business and leisure travellers”. The new site will feature Premier Inn’s latest integrated restaurant and restaurant space, The Social, located on the ground floor of the proposed hotel. The proposed hotel which Premier Inn will occupy on a leasehold basis will also offer a mixture of Premier Inn’s latest style bedrooms, including Premier Plus rooms. An L-shaped hotel building is proposed on Eastfield Road, the main vehicle access route to the airport, with 100 on-site car parking spaces for Premier Inn guests. In line with Whitbread’s sustainability commitments, the proposed hotel will be powered solely by electricity generated by renewable sources, with the building designed to achieve a BREEAM ‘very good’ rating. Public consultation events on plans for the third Premier Inn at Edinburgh Airport have been arranged for 19 November and 17 December 2024 (1pm to 6pm) at The Pavilion, Royal Highland Centre, EH28 8NB. News of the acquisition at Edinburgh Airport follows the announcement of the largest Premier Inn in the north of England at Manchester Airport (September ’24), which will create a 276-bedroom hotel adjacent to the terminal serving the UK’s third busiest airport. Jill Anderson, acquisitions manager for Whitbread, said: “The investment case for expanding Premier Inn at Edinburgh Airport is compelling. Close to 14.5 million passengers chose to travel from the airport in 2023, an increase of almost 30% on the year before, and aircraft movements are increasing especially to international destinations. “As the airport continues to succeed and grow, so are we. We have recognised an opportunity to expand our network in the catchment and bring the popular Premier Inn brand to within walking distance of the airport terminal building. It’s another exciting location for our guests and a further example of Whitbread’s strategy of investing in strategic locations where we see a bright future.” John Rumsey, development director at Riverstone Developments, added: “Whitbread’s strong reputation and track record made this partnership an easy choice. The Premier Inn brand is instantly recognisable to travellers, and Whitbread’s long track record and consistently strong financial performance gave us the reassurance to commit to a leasehold development with them. "As a team, we have everything in place to progress to start building the new hotel next year should we get planning and I know Whitbread is keen to press on and bring the hugely popular Premier Inn brand closer to the airport as soon as they can.”