A hotel room revolution in Dubai and the GCC is on the way, with Dubai chosen as the overseas launch market for the UK’s largest and most successful hotel chain. The Emirates Group has entered into a joint venture agreement with the UK’s leading hospitality group Whitbread Plc to launch Premier Travel Inn in Dubai and the GCC.

Premier Travel Inn, which operates more than 470 budget hotels in the UK with over 31,000 rooms, is renowned for providing consistent guaranteed quality, achieving 80 per cent occupancy rates.

The joint venture has identified three initial sites in Dubai to build Premier Travel Inn hotels, creating more than 800 new rooms for business and leisure travellers seeking high quality budget hotel accommodation.

The first Premier Travel Inn in Dubai will be a 300-room hotel at Dubai Investment Park, scheduled to open in the last quarter of 2007. It will be followed in 2008 by a similar size hotel at Dubai Airport, and a 220-room hotel at Dubai Silicon Oasis.

Premier Travel Inn’s entry into Dubai and the GCC will fill a gap in the region’s hospitality portfolio by providing a high quality product in a hotel sector where rooms are much sought after by value-conscious travellers.

The Premier Travel Inn joint venture complements Emirates’ luxury hotel and serviced apartments management division, Emirates Hotels & Resorts, extending its hospitality portfolio into the budget hotel sector.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman & Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group, said:

“Premier Travel Inn will bring a fresh new offering of proven quality service in a hotel sector where demand is high.”
Sheikh Ahmed said: “This renowned hotel brand will also complement our ethos of quality service across all our Emirates operations, and bring a new dimension to our hospitality portfolio.”

Desmond Taljaard, Group Development Director, Whitbread Plc, said: “We are very pleased to have selected Dubai and the GCC as the overseas launch market for Premier Travel Inn and to have Emirates as our joint venture partner.”

He added: “We are delighted to be part of this initiative which will appeal to the many business and leisure travellers who seek quality hotel accommodation, but would prefer not to pay prices prevailing in the five-star market sector. We believe there is potential for up to 4,000 rooms in the GCC region alone over the next few years.”

All Premier Travel Inn hotels feature ensuite bathroom with shower and bath; king sized beds with duvet; remote control TV/radio alarm; tea/coffee making facilities; and a spacious desk area.

Although the Premier Travel Inn GCC product will be to its same high UK standard, enhancements are planned including swimming pools.

Emirates has an existing relationship with Whitbread Plc through its franchise operation of the Whitbread Costa Coffee brand in the UAE.
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