Whitbread sets out five year plan

A new format Premier Inn room - image courtesy of Whitbread
Already number one in its segment in the U, Premier Inn is now looking to replicate that market presence in Germany

Whitbread has laid out a five year plan to expand its Premier Inn hotel chain across the UK, Ireland and Germany, with service enhancements as well as new properties. 

At the presentation of its half year results in mid October 2024, the company revealed a five year plan to once again drive the business forward. In the UK, that will mean taking its current portfolio to 98,000 rooms by 2030, along to what it believes will ultimately be a UK presence of 125,000 rooms in the UK and Ireland.

Number one in Germany

Continuing growth in Germany is heading towards a 2030 target of 20,000 rooms open, delivering the group an expected GBP70m of adjusted profit. Whitbread says its long term aim is to become the number one hotel brand in Germany. 

That UK development activity continues on a number of fronts. In previous weeks, the company secured approval for one of London’s largest hotels, a 693 room Hub hotel that it will build near Trafalgar Square. In Cambridge, it opened a new 125 room hotel developed by investor Abrdn, which the company has signed to lease long term. It uses vacant office space above a city centre shopping arcade. 

And Manchester is a focus for activity too. Whitbread has started construction on a 229 room hotel to the north of the city centre, and has signed with Mix Manchester to develop a 279 room property at the city’s airport. At the same time, it has sold one of its older properties in the city, for redevelopment into alternative uses. 

And across the UK, the group is adding extensions to hotels under its Accelerating Growth Plan. Having undertaken an analysis of Premier Inn hotels where it had a co-located restaurant, the group has decided to either sell or close many of those restaurants. Those that are being closed, numbering 112, will be converted to provide a block of additional hotel rooms, quickly adding guestroom capacity at modest additional cost. In total, the redevelopment projects will add 3,500 rooms across the UK. 

New additions

While the extensions will add rooms, sites will often also see some existing guestrooms near the core of the property being converted to provide a breakfast bar for Premier Inn guests. Breakfast remains a core part of the hotel chain’s offer. The group has said it will also be trialling more dynamic room pricing, and will be offering guests the option of choosing a “room with a view”. 

In Germany, growth continues at a pace, with a string of upcoming openings adding to the 50 hotels already in operation. Before the end of 2024, the group expects to add Cologne city centre, Berlin south and Rosenheim. Additional pipeline signings made in recent months include new Premier Inn hotels in Bremerhaven, Eschborn and the group’s eighth hotel in Hamburg

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