Bangkok--3 Jul--Weber Shandwick
Premier Inn, the United Kingdom’s number one hotel brand with over 630 properties and 49,000 rooms across the United Kingdom, Middle East and India today announced that it has set up its Asia-Pacific hub in Singapore. This is Premier Inn’s third regional hub following Dubai and New Delhi and in the initial phase of its operations, the brand will be evaluating opportunities across the region in terms of best-fit partnerships and priority markets.
Established to enter the rapidly growing economy travel segment in the region, the Singapore office will aim to bring Premier Inn’s signature, value-for-money experience to Asia Pacific.
The office will be managed by Mr Erik van Keulen, Senior Vice President for Development, Asia Pacific, who comes with over 15 years in the hospitality sector in Asia.
Part of the Whitbread Group, the award winning hotel group will be establishing partnerships with developers and investors in the region. “We are excited at the prospect of bringing our success in the UK and other international markets to Asia,” said Mr van Keulen. “Having grown into one of the largest hotel owners in the world over the past 25 years, Premier Inn understands the challenges of building and planning new economy hotels. With our resources fully dedicated towards growing a single hotel brand, Premier Inn offers a uniquely strong investment proposition to local partners to deliver the signature Premier Inn experience in their respective markets.”
Premier Inn has also been recognized by industry professionals, receiving the World's Best Budget Hotel Brand award for consecutive years at the 2010 and 2011 World Travel Awards, in addition to its accolades as Best Budget Hotel Brand 2012 and Hotel Chain of the Year 2011 at the British Travel Awards.
Most Britons live within ten kilometres of a Premier Inn
First established in 1987, the Premier Inn brand is part of the pedigree, London Stock Exchange-listed Whitbread group, which has a rich history dating back nearly three centuries.
Over time the brand has grown to become one of the most recognizable and highly regarded economy hotel chains in the UK with an unmatched presence across the region. In fact, it is estimated that 75 per cent of the population in the UK lives less than ten kilometres from a Premier Inn.
Consistently rated among the top hotel chains in the UK and the world, Premier Inn has built its success on the back of a quality guestroom offering coupled with fantastic locations all at extremely affordable rates. Premier Inn also offers all guests a ‘Good Night Guarantee’ — which means if customers are not 100 per cent satisfied with their stay they get their money back. This promise has resonated strongly with guests who are also drawn to the consistently high standards set across the various properties.
The brand prides itself on its focus on the essentials that deliver the maximum satisfaction for guests. Guest rooms come with:
- Queen-size beds for maximum comfort — ideal for individual travellers and couples
- Family rooms that offer double beds with pull-out beds or sofa beds to accommodate up to four guests comfortably
- Cosy Fogarty duvets and pillows as well as blackout curtains for a peaceful night's sleep
- En-suite bathrooms with baths and high quality showers
- Large flat screen TV sets with local and international channels
- Complimentary WiFi access for resident guests and spacious desk for a workspace — ideal for business travellers
- Toiletries and a hair dryer
- Tea and coffee making facilities
Other services and amenities offered at Premier Inn hotels include quality breakfast buffets, with grab-and-go options for busy travellers and hearty all-you-can-eat breakfast buffets for those who prefer a full meal to start the day. Properties also offer in-house restaurants and bars for convenient access to quality dining and entertainment options. Through sister-brand Costa, the largest and fastest growing coffee shop chain in the UK and with over 2,200 stores globally, Premier Inn also offers a high quality caf? experience at many of its locations.
Currently offering over 49,000 rooms across the UK, Middle East and India, the brand has announced rapid expansion plans and aims to have 65,000 rooms in the UK by 2016, further strengthening its position as the UK’s biggest hotel chain. In addition to its extensive network across the UK, Premier Inn has been expanding to other parts of the globe including Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the Middle East, and Bangalore and New Delhi in India, with more properties in the pipeline across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
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Tapping into growing international and intra-regional travellers
Recently released data from the Pacific Asia Travel Association shows a 7 per cent growth in international visitors to the Asia Pacific region, with the South East Asian region outpacing the rest with growth at over 11 per cent.
Markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia have long been favoured destinations for international travellers and the emergence of Vietnam and others has also fuelled the boom to the region.
The emergence of a growing domestic Asian market is a positive sign for the continued development of these destinations. With budget carriers in the region also continuously adding new routes and connecting previously unknown destinations with major intra-regional hubs in markets such as India and China, the economy travel segment is well poised to see sustained growth.
Premier Inn is aiming to bring a quality international experience to the budget travel segment in the region, added Mr van Keulen. “In Asia, the majority of international hotel chains have focused on the luxury segment, and hence the budget travel segment is still in its infancy in this part of the world. Premier Inn’s promise of a great night’s sleep and comfortable stay at affordable prices will appeal to a rapidly expanding segment of budget leisure and business travellers.”
About Premier Inn
Award-winning Premier Inn is the UK’s biggest hotel brand with over 630 budget hotels and more than 49,000 bedrooms across the UK, Ireland, Middle East and India. Premier Inn bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, TV with Freeview, and WiFi internet access and all Premier Inns feature a restaurant and bar situated inside the hotel or adjacent, offering a wide range of food choices.
Visit www.premierinn.com for more information.
About Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants
Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants (WHR) is part of Whitbread PLC and it operates market-leading businesses in the budget hotels and restaurant sectors. Premier Inn — the UK’s biggest budget hotel chain — Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Taybarns.
About Whitbread Plc
Whitbread PLC is the UK’s largest hotel and restaurant group operating market-leading businesses in budget hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. Its well-loved brands are Premier Inn, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Taybarns and Costa.
Whitbread PLC employs over 40,000 people globally and serves over 20 million customers every month in over 2,000 outlets* across the UK.
Whitbread has outlined five-year growth milestones (to 2015/16) to increase the number of Premier Inn UK rooms to at least 65,000, add 80-100 new Restaurants and to nearly double the size of Costa with global system sales of over US$2 billion and 3,500 stores worldwide.
In the year ended 1 March 2012, Whitbread PLC reported a 11.2% increase in Group Revenue to US$2.7 billion and Underlying Profit before tax of US$500 million up 11.3%.
Whitbread PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100. It is also a member of the FTSE4Good Index.
*excludes Costa Franchise stores and Costa Express
For further information go to www.whitbread.co.uk