Whitbread has celebrated the launch of its Premier Inn brand into a new country market, Austria. The brand, well established in the UK, with a growing presence in Germany and Ireland, is now adding another European territory to its international spread.
The hotel in Vienna was part of a portfolio of hotels acquired by Whitbread in spring 2023, in a GBP28.4m deal. In addition to the Austrian property, the package included five leasehold hotels in Germany, all adding up to 900 rooms in total.
A Viennese Premier Inn
Since then, the property close to the city’s main station has been refurbished and upgraded, and now offers 180 guest rooms with 29 of them fitted out as the premium Premier Inn Plus format, a more recent addition to the brand offering that has enjoyed strong demand from some guests. The German hotels, too, have been refitted to Premier Inn brand standards, adding to the growth of the business across the country.
“We are delighted that Premier Inn has now succeeded in entering the Austrian market and opening our first hotel in Vienna,” said Premier Inn Germany CEO Erik Friemuth. “The vibrant capital is an important market for us: from now on, we can offer our guests first-class accommodation in the immediate vicinity of one of Europe’s most central transportation hubs.”
Currently Premier Inn has 60 hotels open across Germany, with a substantial additional pipeline already signed, across properties to be converted or developed as new build projects. Ultimately, the group aims for Premier Inn to be as big a hotel name in Germany, as it already is in the brand’s home territory of the UK.
Over the next year or so, there are plans to open new hotels in Bremerhaven, Halle, Hannover, Duisburg, Rostock and Ingolstadt.
The 115 room hotel in Bremerhaven is being constructed by LIST Develop, on a site acquired by the Premier Inn brand owner, Whitbread. It and will feature the latest in green, energy saving technologies including an extensive array of photovoltaic cells on the roof. Heating and cooling for the interior will come from electric heat pumps, using the solar energy with grid support as required.
A mix of leased and owned hotels
The new hotel in Halle is being developed by GP Papenburg Hochbau, with the backing of investor Saalesparkasse; Whitbread has signed a long lease on the new building. Premier Inn Halle Am Opernplatz is going up on a piece of land behind the city’s opera house, and will have 113 rooms over five floors, plus two levels of basement parking.
And in Rostock, Randalswood Germany GmbH, a subsidiary of the Irish McGrath Group, is constructing a 200 room hotel for Premier Inn. The hotel is just one part of a mixed use development that will also include 135 apartments, and retail space.
