Premium economy hotel brand Premier Inn has opened its second hotel in the German city of Lubeck, as it expands rapidly in the German market.
Premier Inn Lubeck City Centre is the goup’s 57th hotel to open in the German market, and has 203 rooms. Located just 300 metres from the city’s main rail station, it provides an ideal base for visitors to the historic old town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Building a second country market
Already a dominant player in the UK, where it has more than 800 hotels, Premier Inn is now looking to build a similar market presence in Germany, in the medium term. The group is also growing in Ireland, another country where it has targeted major expansion.
The brand looks to add more than one hotel in busy city destinations. In Berlin, for example, there are already five Premier Inn hotels, and six in the Munich area. And in Frankfurt, where Premier Inn launched in Germany in 2016, there are now four hotels for guests to choose from.
Already this year in Germany, the company has opened hotels in Cologne Mediapark, Munich City East, and Lindau. It has a signed pipeline of around 40 more properties to come, including Berlin City South and Cologne City Centre, both expected to launch by the end of 2024, and Rosenheim in early 2025. The 145 room Rosenheim hotel is part of an integrated project combining hotel accommodation, student living and apartments for senior living.
Premier Inn is owned by UK listed Whitbread, which operates its hotels on a vertically integrated basis, owning the brand, operating the properties directly and owning many of them. In Germany, the group is looking to grow by developing its own hotels, or acquiring existing properties for conversion. It also works with institutional investors and landlords, signing hotels on long leases.
A strong German pipeline
For 2025’s opening schedule, work is already under way on a 115 room hotel in Bremerhaven, and at Osnabruck City Neumarkt a new hotel will open at the former Sportarena building. In Bochum, the brand will launch in a landmark 21 storey tower.
In 2026, Premier Inn hotels are expected to open in Sindelfingen, Rostock City Hafen, Ingolstadt and Halle. Further ahead in 2027, a new build tower in Dortmund will host a Premier Inn, a 200 room property will be developed in Kiel and there are plans to add a property in Erfurt. In Hamburg, the group will extend its presence in the city with a new hotel close to the main railway station. And in Aachen, Premier Inn is pursuing two projects, which will add a total of 500 hotel rooms to the local stock.
Meanwhile in the UK, the group continues with new additions to its large portfolio, including projects in Brighton and Cambridge. It is also extending many of its hotels, converting underperforming restaurant sites to additional hotel rooms.
