Premier Inn marks 15 years in the Middle East
Premier Inn celebrates 15 years of growth, diversity and success in the Middle East this month – and continues to check out new opportunities for expansion in 2023 and beyond.
Britain’s biggest hotel brand, which debuted in the Middle East with the opening of Premier Inn Dubai Investments Park on 8 April 2008, now has 11 hotels in the UAE and Qatar, with more in the pipeline.
Premier Inn is marking the occasion with prizes and special deals, including 15 free room nights to be won on Instagram (@premierinngulf), and a flash sale with 30 per cent discount on summer hotel stays booked on the anniversary weekend (8/9 April 2023) at the Premier Inn website or through online travel agencies. Discounted rates start from just AED95 per night. Terms and conditions apply.
Simon Leigh, Managing Director, Premier Inn MENA, said: “The Premier Inn brand has gone from strength to strength since its arrival in the Middle East 15 years ago. Back then, we stood proud as the only hotel at Dubai Investments Park, which is now one of Dubai’s most prominent residential, commercial and industrial zones. Over the last 15 years, Premier Inn has evolved to become the Middle East’s hotel brand of choice for high quality, high value accommodation. We thank our stakeholders, guests and talented team members who are pivotal to Premier Inn’s Middle East success story, and look forward to marking more key milestones in the next 15 years and beyond.”
Bikash Kumar Saraf, Group Finance Director at Premier Inn, is part of the team that launched the Premier Inn brand in the region in 2008. He said: “In 2006, mid-scale hotels in Dubai were scarce, with luxury brands dominating the market. As part of a strategy to increase hotel inventory and diversify the options available to tourists, Emirates teamed up with the UK’s leading hospitality brand, Whitbread to bring Premier Inn to Dubai. Two years later, Premier Inn Dubai Investments Park proudly opened for business.”
Premier Inn MENA’s second hotel, at Dubai Silicon Oasis, opened in 2009, followed by Premier Inn Dubai International Airport in 2010. The brand launched in Abu Dhabi in 2011, and in Qatar in 2017. It’s newest property, Premier Inn Dubai Barsha Heights marked its first anniversary last month.
Simon Leigh added: “Premier Inn is renowned for its warm welcome, unrivalled British hospitality, hearty food, great leisure facilities and a restful night’s sleep. The result: consistently high occupancy levels, guests that return time and time again, rave reviews and superb ratings on Trip Advisor. In 15 short years, our brand has become deep-rooted in the region, and we are firmly committed to further expansion here.”
Premier Inn MENA timeline:
• 8 April, 2008: Premier Inn Dubai Investment Parks, Premier Inn’s first property in the region and the first hotel to be constructed at DIP, opens for business;
• 15 May 2009: Premier Inn opens new hotel at Dubai Silicon Oasis;
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• 1 January 2010: Premier Inn’s 281 room at Dubai International Airport takes flight;
• 21 December 2011: Premier Inn expands into Abu Dhabi with 242-room hotel at Abu Dhabi Capital Centre;
• 19 November 2013: Premier Inn Abu Dhabi International Airport, the only hotel directly connected to the airport terminal, opens for business;
• 10 October 2016: The 372-room Premier Inn Ibn Battuta Mall opens its doors;
• 18 May 2017: Premier Inn debuts in Doha as 219-room hotel opens at Doha Education City;
• 18 February 2019: Premier Inn Dubai Al Jaddaf, also now the company’s regional HQ, becomes the fifth Premier Inn in Dubai and the eighth in the Middle East;
• 15 December 2019: Premier Inn opens 304-room hotel at Dragon Mart, a stone’s throw from the world’s largest Chinese trading and retail hub outside mainland China;
• 13 January 2020: Premier Inn opens second property in Qatar, located at Doha International Airport;
• 10 September 2021: A 222-room extension opens at Premier Inn Ibn Battuta Mall. With 594 guest rooms, it’s the largest hotel in the Middle East – and the second largest in the world;
• 30 March 2022: The 219-room Premier Inn Dubai Barsha Heights opens, sporting a new design, look and feel as the blueprint for the evolution of the Premier Inn brand in the region;
• 8 April 2023: Premier Inn celebrates 15 years in the Middle East.
For more information and bookings, visit https://mena.premierinn.com/en, call +971 600 500 503, or follow @premierinngulf on social media.