Whitbread PLC aims to expand Premier Inn’s portfolio from 85,000 hotel rooms to 125,000 across Britain, Ireland, and Germany, as shared by managing director Simon Ewins at the Annual Hotel Conference in Manchester.
The company’s success is attributed to its control over its estate and guest data, allowing for consistent product development and effective scaling of the Premier Inn brand, which constitutes 98pc of the portfolio.
Whitbread is also exploring innovative hotel concepts, such as Hub by Premier Inn and Zip Hotels, and is in the process of optimizing its food-and-beverage offerings by disposing of underperforming restaurants while repurposing sites to create additional hotel rooms.
Ewins emphasised the importance of building consumer confidence in the hospitality industry, advocating for better recognition of the sector’s economic contributions and highlighting the need for innovation in operations amidst rising costs.
Mr Ewins said: “artificial intelligence is a process that will be woven into the fabric of what always will be a people business. Hospitality is something only a human can give,”
