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Whitbread, Premier Inn’s parent company, has announced two new acquisitions and a pipeline of 600 bedrooms beyond the UK mainland.
The hotel giant said the growth of the ‘staycation’ market, and strong year-round business demand, has encouraged it to build a network of 604 Premier Inn bedrooms in UK island locations.
Commenting on the expansion, Alex Flach, UK development director for Whitbread, said: “The way in which people are using ‘budget’ hotels like Premier Inn is evolving. The staycation market is growing and we are seeing increased demand for Premier Inn hotels in island locations around the UK.
“This growth, alongside year-round demand from business travellers, has given us the confidence to invest and secure six new Premier Inn hotels beyond the UK mainland.”
In the Channel Islands, Whitbread opened its first hotel in St Helier, Jersey in July 2018. It revealed the popularity of the hotel encouraged Whitbread to commit to a second 122-bedroom Premier Inn at Bath Street in St Helier and invest in its first hotel on the Isle of Guernsey – a 100-bedroom Premier Inn at Admiral Park, Saint Peter Port.
As well as the Channel Islands, new Premier Inn hotels announced a third hotel on the Isle of Wight, a 100-bedroom hotel on Shetland and Whitbread’s first hotel in Douglas, the Isle of Man, which opened on 24th June. The company also said its property acquisition team are also in discussions to bring Premier Inn to other UK islands.
Whitbread is investing in six Premier Inn hotels on UK island locations as it grows the Premier Inn estate to 110,000 UK and Ireland bedrooms. The secured island locations include:
Jersey St Helier (Charing Cross) – open
Jersey St Helier (Bath Street) – planning application submitted
Guernsey St Peter’s Port – leasehold secured
Sandown, Isle of White – under construction
Douglas, Isle of Man – open
Lerwick, Shetland – planning application submitted
Flach added: “Most UK islands have a below average supply of branded hotel accommodation, so there’s a real opportunity for Premier Inn to bring a different style of accommodation to these places and diversify the hotel offer for visitors. As we do so, we are creating new permanent jobs and supporting the island economies by attracting Premier Inn customers to visit. Local businesses also benefit from our presence as many of our guests visit local attractions and eat and drink out when they stay with us.”
