Unveils latest hotel at Dubai's International Airport

Dubai, 11th February 2010: Premier Inn, the UK's largest and most successful hotel brand has today officially opened its latest Dubai hotel located at Dubai International Airport. Premier Inn in the GCC is a strategic partnership between the Emirates Group and Whitbread Plc and this new hotel lends further weight to their commitment of being the number one limited service hotel chain in the region.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum presided over the launch and unveiled a plaque commemorating the occasion. Sheikh Ahmed, who is Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline and Group, enjoyed a guided tour of the new hotel accompanied by Darroch Crawford, Managing Director of Premier Inn Middle East.

Darroch Crawford commented on the opening, "We are honoured to welcome His Highness Sheikh Ahmed to our latest hotel and delighted to further demonstrate our commitment to pushing ahead with our expansion plans." 

The current financial climate has seen many companies within the hotel industry slowing down expansion and cutting operational costs. However Premier Inn is taking advantage of the increase in budget conscious travellers and a decrease in corporate travel expenses by continuing to open hotels as planned.

Crawford continued, "Throughout the hotel industry there has been a general slowdown of expansion and the climate is one of caution. However at Premier Inn we prefer to look at this time with optimism. There continues to be an increasing demand, from business and leisure travellers alike, for good quality accommodation at value for money prices. Premier Inn offers exactly that without compromising on service."

Located on the doorstep of the airport and close to Dubai's business hotspots, Premier Inn Dubai International Airport hotel is ideal for both business and leisure travellers. The hotel features 281 modern and stylish air conditioned rooms, each en-suite with bath, shower and bidet. The hotel also offers a contemporary restaurant (Bedouinns), a bar (The Retreat), and a Costa Coffee outlet.

Prices are fixed at Dhs 375 per room per night, although a higher rate may occasionally apply during very major events.

Darroch Crawford concluded, "We are extremely excited about opening our third hotel within such a short space of time. There is an ever growing demand for this type of product and we are confident that our customer base, spread across business and leisure travellers, will continue to increase."

For hotel bookings, visit premierinn.ae or call +971 (0) 4 885 0999.

-Ends-

Premier Inn
Premier Inn is the UK's biggest and fastest growing hotel brand with over 580 hotels and in excess of 42,000 rooms across the UK and in Ireland.  Premier Inn bedrooms in the GCC are 24m² and feature en-suite bathroom with bath, shower and bidet, 32in flat screen TV and free internet access. Each room can comfortably sleep up to two adults and two children at no additional cost. All Premier Inns have a restaurant, a bar and a rooftop swimming pool. Premier Inn opened its first international hotel in Dubai in April 2008, a 308 bedroom property in Dubai Investments Park and its second at Dubai Silicon Oasis in May 2009. Planned further openings include hotels in Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Qawain, Muscat, Doha and Riyadh.

Premier Inn operates in the GCC under a joint venture with the Emirates Group. Premier Inn also has a joint venture to roll out 80 budget hotels in India by 2017. 

Premier Inn was confirmed as the leading Economy brand in the JD Power European Economy Hotel Guest Satisfaction Surveys in both 2008 and 2009.

Premier Inn offers customers a comfortable room, friendly service and exceptional value for money with its consistent one price policy. Further information is available on premierinn.com

Whitbread PLC
Whitbread PLC is the UK's largest hotel and restaurant company operating market-leading businesses in the budget hotel and restaurant sectors.  Its brands include Premier Inn, Beefeater, Table Table, Brewers Fayre, Taybarns and Costa Coffee.

Whitbread PLC employs over 33,000 people and serves 8.5 million customers every month in its 1,500 outlets across the UK.

In the financial year ended 26th February 2009, Whitbread PLC reported a 9.7% increase in Group Revenue to £1334.6 million and 12% increase in Underlying Pre-tax Profit to £228.2 million.

Whitbread PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is also a member of the FTSE4Good Index. 

Emirates Group
The Emirates Group comprises Emirates Airline and a number of associate companies including Dnata, Mercator, Transguard and EmQuest.  Emirates Airline also includes Emirates SkyCargo and Destination & Leisure Management (D&LM), which manages Emirates Holidays, Arabian Adventures and Emirates Hotels & Resorts.

© Press Release 2010