CityHub secures backing to accelerate international rollout

CityHub hotel rooms have been designed to make use of the latest technology.

Hotel/hostel hybrid CityHub has agreed a deal with NIBC and ABN AMRO to help grow the innovative brand’s portfolio of sites.

After winning the backing of two banking heavyweights, CityHub looks well-placed to expand rapidly across Europe. We find out more.

CityHub teams up with Dutch banks for expansion

CityHub has signed a financial partnership with NIBC and ABN AMRO to kickstart its European expansion plan. The new funds will help the business, which strikes a note between hotels and hostels and is aimed squarely at Generation Y and Generation Z travellers, grow its portfolio to ten properties within the next five years.

The innovative Dutch brand was started in Amsterdam five years ago with the aim of offering millennial travellers an alternative to traditional accommodation, and given how the hospitality industry will have to adapt and change to reflect the ‘new normal’ after coronavirus, the time now seems ripe for CityHub to spread its wings. Its first international location, Copenhagen, is due to open in September 2020.

“Young leisure travellers are expected to be the first to resume travelling when lockdowns ease,” said CityHub co-founder Sem Schuurkes. “Our financial partnership with ABN AMRO and NIBC recognises CityHub’s position as the go-to option for GEN Y and GEN Z. We can’t wait to bring CityHub to the most exciting leisure cities in Europe.”

A novel concept for a new generation

The CityHub brand is defined by its tech-forward approach and is pioneering contactless hospitality, with independent check-in and check-out, self-service bars and app-based customer service. Its distinctive modular approach also simplifies the process of repurposing existing buildings in up-and-coming neighbourhoods.

“With its game-changing concept, CityHub created a new category that has huge potential for the next generation of travellers,” said Brigitte van der Maarel, head of NIBC Mezzanine & Equity Partners. “We are proud to be part of the team and excited to support CityHub’s growth across Europe.”

“We are proud financial partners of CityHub from the very start, providing financial facilities since the opening of its first hotel in Amsterdam five years ago”, added Peter Sleper, of ABN AMRO. “We are pleased to be able to facilitate CityHub’s innovative and disruptive concept to grow throughout Europe.”