Whitbread heads to the seaside with more than 1,000 Premier Inn bedrooms coming to coastal locations
Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn and Costa, has seen an increased demand for Premier Inn bedrooms in seaside locations, as it announces that more than 1,000 new Premier Inn bedrooms are coming to coastal locations across the UK.
With significant regeneration taking place in British seaside towns and cities, Whitbread has been increasingly on the lookout for new coastal sites. In the last year, the business has secured deals for nearly 400 new Premier Inn bedrooms in seaside locations across the UK, while approximately another 500 bedrooms will be constructed at new hotel sites in the next year. A further 100 bedrooms are being added to existing Premier Inn hotels through extensions.
New Premier Inn hotels are coming to traditional English seaside locations including Brighton, Holyhead and Newquay, while strong demand for Premier Inn bedrooms on the coast has encouraged the business to extend some of its existing hotels, such as in Paignton in Devon and Southport.
Whitbread has also expanded into new coastal markets with its first Premier Inn hotel in the Channel Islands, opening in St Helier in Jersey at the end of May, and a new hotel in Porthmadog marking the first Premier Inn on the boundary of Snowdonia National Park.
Figures from the Great Britain Tourism Survey 2017 show that last year the number of domestic holiday trips taken in England was 6 per cent higher than in 2016, and the number of staycations are continuing to increase in 2018 [i]
Jo Moon, Director of Acquisitions for Whitbread, said:
“With the recent rise in staycations, we’ve found there’s an increased demand for Premier Inn bedrooms in coastal locations around the UK. There are also significant regeneration and modernisation projects taking place in seaside towns and cities across the UK, and we’re excited to be a part of this change.
“These new Premier Inn bedrooms will help to support seaside economies by attracting visitors across all four seasons and creating year-round jobs for local people. 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.
“We plan to build on this momentum over the next 12 months and are on the lookout for more coastal sites for new Premier Inn hotels.”
A new Premier Inn in Bridlington opened in March, with five more seaside and coastal hotels scheduled to complete over the next 12 months in Jersey, Wadebridge, Oban, Penzance and Skegness. Extensions will also be completed to Premier Inn hotels in Paignton South, Paignton Goodrington Sands, Newhaven (East Sussex), Plymouth and Southport.
Also secured in the committed pipeline are new hotels in the coastal locations of Brighton, Newquay, Porthmadog and Holyhead.
[i] https://www.visitbritain.org/great-britain-tourism-survey-latest-monthly-overnight-data
In its last financial year, Whitbread secured deals for 31 new Premier Inn hotels across the UK, contributing a further 4,300 rooms to the secured development pipeline. In its Preliminary results presentation on 25 April 2018, the business confirmed it has more than 14,700 Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn bedrooms in its committed pipeline and expects to achieve its target of 85,000 bedrooms by 2020.
For more information, please contact:James Anderson, Property Communications Manager at Whitbread on 07850 944 798 / James.Anderson@whitbread.com
Emily Barnes / Richard Pia at Camargue on 020 7637 7366 / whitbread@camargue.uk
Notes to editors
The image issued with the release is a photograph of Premier Inn Bridlington which opened on 9th March 2018. The hotel has 82-bedrooms.
About Premier Inn
Premier Inn was named the UK’s top-rated hotel chain for 2017 according to Which? With 785 hotels and more than 72,000 bedrooms across the UK and Ireland, Premier Inn guests are never far from a great night’s sleep at fantastic value rates. Premier Inn hotels are in more locations than any other UK hotel brand for the ease and convenience of leisure and business travellers alike.
All Premier Inn bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, a luxurious Hypnos® bed, a choice of pillows, TV with Freeview and free Wi-Fi. A bar and restaurant is situated either on-site or next door to each hotel, offering a wide range of food and drink including a delicious all-you-can-eat breakfast.
Across the estate, the average Trip Advisor score for Premier Inn hotels is 4.2. The business has been awarded the Best UK Family Hotel in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, Best UK Hotel Group in the Silver Travel Awards and the Business In The Community Environmental Leadership Award.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is the National Charity partner of Premier Inn and to date team members, guests and suppliers have reached the milestone of £10 million, which formed part of the funding towards the Premier Inn Clinical Building, officially opened by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge in January 2018.
Outside of the UK, Premier Inn’s expansion plans are focused on two key markets; Germany and the Middle East, with plans to expand in Ireland. Premier Inn opened its first hotel in Frankfurt in 2016 and the business has 5,500 Premier Inn bedrooms in its secured pipeline in Germany.
