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Whitbread has opened a new 187-bedroom Premier Inn at Cork City Centre, Ireland, today (29 January) – the first to open outside of Dublin.
The new opening has grown Whitbread’s network of Irish hotels to six locations and more than 1,000 trading bedrooms.
Premier Inn Cork City Centre is located at Morrison’s Quay overlooking the south channel of the River Lee on a site with a deep connection to the hospitality industry.
In addition, more than 40 team members have been recruited to welcome guests to the new Premier Inn, following a series of successful recruitment events and presentations in the city in 2023.
Across Ireland, Whitbread believes there is capacity for around 3,500 Premier Inn bedrooms. The group has called the new Cork opening a “springboard” for further expansion across the country.
Alongside further expansion across Dublin, the company has named Killarney, Limerick, and Galway as locations it is particularly interested in securing for Premier Inn.
Matt Gent, development manager for Whitbread in Ireland, said: “We’ve grown a lot in the past 12 months in Ireland as we respond to an undersupply of budget hotel rooms in the country and positive trading figures from our established hotels in Dublin.
“The opening of our first Premier Inn outside of Dublin in Cork City Centre today is an important milestone for us and sets us up for further expansion in regional towns and cities across Ireland.”
He added: “I hope this year we will be able to add more sites into our secured pipeline not only in Dublin, but also towns and cities where we are not currently represented and see real opportunities for Premier Inn.”
