NEWS FROM PREMIER INN

PREMIER INN UNVEILS PLANS FOR
BRITAIN’S FIRST FLOATING BUDGET HOTEL
- GUARANTEED ‘SEA SICKNESS FREE’!


Buying a barge or joining the Royal Navy are no longer the only ways to sleep on the water, as Premier Inn today unveils plans for its innovative ‘Floatel’ (floating budget hotel) - a first for the British budget hotel industry.

Britain’s largest and *best budget hotel chain aims to build the ‘Floatel’ in Hartlepool Marina during 2009. It will be the first time a budget hotel has been purpose-built on water. Premier Inn chiefs say that the planned hotel will offer the same quality and value of its other 556 hotels – but with the added benefit of a waterfront view.

As well as having a ‘Good Night Guaranteed’, guests would be sure to avoid sea sickness because the hotel’s special design means it will float vertically with the tide; while the horizontal movement will be restricted by sleeved piles driven into the marina.

And anyone arriving late at night wouldn’t need a boat trip in order to check-in: the waterfront hotel will be linked to an existing Premier Inn on the quayside by a pedestrian ramp and an external platform lift.

The ‘Floatel’ is needed because there is a growing demand for additional hotel accommodation in the Hartlepool Marina area but little viable building space on-land. The new hotel will have 54 bedrooms, each able to accommodate two adults and two children under 16, and will feature ensuite bathroom, TV and Internet access, as is standard in all Premier Inns.

The proposed development will contribute to both the re-development of the area, and the creation of approximately 25 jobs. Premier Inn’s Property Director, Mark Anderson, says, “As Britain’s leading hotel company, we’re always looking for new ways to ensure we have great hotels; wherever they’re needed.”
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For further media information, please contact:
Frank PR on 0207 693 6999 or e-mail premierinn@frankpr.it

Notes to editors

About Premier Inn … Premier Inn is the UK’s biggest and fastest-growing hotel brand with over 550 budget hotels and more than 38,000 rooms across the UK. Premier Inn bedrooms are 22m² and feature en-suite bathroom, TV, and internet access for business guests. Premier Inn offers customers a ‘Good Night Guarantee’ of a good quality room, comfortable surroundings and friendly service, which is unique amongst Britain’s leading hotel chains.

Premier Inn was the first Britain-wide hotel group to sign up with national tourist board VisitBritain; this means Premier Inn is now part of a new quality assessment scheme, specially created for budget accommodation.

A joint venture with Emirates has seen the Premier Inn brand develop in the Gulf region, with its first budget hotel in Dubai in Spring 2008. Premier Inn also has a joint venture with Emar-MGF to roll out 80 budget hotels in India by 2017. On a domestic front, Premier Inn is set to be the largest provider of budget hotels in London by the time of the 2012 Olympics.

Premier Inn has been confirmed as the leading Economy brand in the JD Power European Economy Hotel Guest Satisfaction Survey 2008.

*Premier Inn was awarded Best Budget Hotel at the Business Traveller Awards 2008.

www.premierinn.com