Tag Archives: Premier Inn

Premier Inn MENA plans to take Britain’s biggest hotel brand to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2023 as part of its Middle East expansion, with discussions with several investors and potential business partners under way. Premier Inn, which currently has 11 hotels across the UAE and Qatar, is also planning further expansion in its existing markets and elsewhere in the region as part of its long-term Middle East growth strategy . Simon Leigh, Managing Director, Premier Inn MENA, said: “Premier Inn’s focus for 2023 is to further evolve our brand and footprint in the region – on our existing ‘home grounds’ of the UAE and Qatar, elsewhere in the GCC and in other markets in the wider Middle East. “With its huge investment in tourism under Vision 2030, a bid to host EXPO 2030 and world-class developments in full swing across the country, Saudi Arabia offers excellent opportunities for Premier Inn.  We would be immensely proud to bring our much-loved brand to the Kingdom and be part of its ever-growing tourism and hospitality sector. Fruitful discussions are continuing, and we are confident that Premier Inn will make its KSA debut this year.” Premier Inn also plans to launch a new, higher-grade room category in the Middle East, as well as more enhancements at its existing properties this year, reinforcing its commitment to the region and to maintaining its position as MENA’s hotel brand of choice for high quality, high value accommodation. “2022 was a record year for Premier Inn MENA in terms of trading and growth, fueled by large-scale events such as Expo 2020 and the World Cup, the continued post-pandemic bounce-back, and the opening of our 11th property, …

Premier Inn Al Jaddaf lights up in purple to mark Purple Tuesday, taking place in the UAE for the first time on 1 November 2022. As the UAE hospitality partner for Purple Tuesday – a global event which recognises the importance of guests with disabilities, including hidden conditions – Premier Inn MENA will give people of determination an even better experience at its hotels in the UAE and Qatar. Kathy Sorenson, Director of Human Resources, Premier Inn MENA, said: “Challenges such as autism, diabetes, poor sight or hearing and even sleep disorders can bring barriers to daily lives. We want to change that by providing more support, empathy and understanding, starting by training all team members in the Hidden Disability Sunflower Scheme during 2022 and 2023, and continuing our Purple journey way beyond.” An estimated 17 per cent of the world’s population have a disability of some kind. For Premier Inn MENA, that’s potentially 204,000 of the 1.2 million overnight guests welcomed each year.

Nakheel’s second hotel at Dragon City – a 304-room Premier Inn – is now open, marking another key milestone in the developer’s hospitality business strategy. Premier Inn Dragon City, located just steps away from the world-famous Dragon Mart and its 5,000 shops, restaurants and attractions, was officially opened on December 12 by Ali Rashid Lootah, Chairman of Nakheel and Alison Brittain, Chief Executive Officer of Whitbread, the UK’s largest hospitality company and owner of the Premier Inn brand.   The eight-storey hotel features a 320-seater restaurant, a Costa Coffee shop, a fully-equipped gym and meeting facilities. It is the fourth Nakheel hotel to be delivered, coming hot on the heels of the inauguration last week of its second hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall. Premier Inn also operates Nakheel’s first hotel at Ibn Battuta, opened in 2016. Ali Rashid Lootah said, “Today marks another milestone for Nakheel, Dragon City and Dubai as we deliver the fourth hotel in our hospitality project portfolio, and the second at this globally-renowned destination. We are confident that this new hotel will be a big hit with Dragon City’s 40 million annual visitors, who come from the UAE, GCC and beyond to shop and trade at this world-famous destination.” Brittain said, “Having been part of the UAE hospitality landscape for more than a decade, it’s a true testament to the quality of Premier Inn that we are able to open our eighth hotel in the region. Our hotel at Dragon City marks the second in our strategic partnership with Nakheel, following the successful launch of Premier Inn Ibn Battuta Mall in 2016.”

Dubai developer Nakheel broke ground on a new, AED176 million hotel at Dragon City. The Premier Inn is Nakheel’s second hotel at Dragon City. The ground-breaking ceremony, led by Nakheel Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah, comes less than two weeks after the company awarded a contract worth AED136 million to Al Ghurair Contracting and Engineering Works to build the 304-room hotel. Nakheel’s first hotel, a 251-room ibis Styles hotel, opened in February 2016. Set for delivery in 2019, Premier Inn Dragon City is the latest project in Nakheel’s AED5 billion hospitality expansion. Last week, the company confirmed new hotels at Jumeirah Village Circle and Discovery Gardens, bringing its number of hospitality projects to 18. Lootah said: “Today marks another milestone in our hospitality expansion, and highlights our commitment to delivering new hotels across Dubai in line with the Government of Dubai’s 2021 vision. I am delighted to declare that work is officially under way at Premier Inn Dragon City, and to further reinforce our already highly-successful relationship with Whitbread through this latest partnership.” Premier Inn Dragon City is part of a huge new master plan that is transforming the area into a giant retail, residential and recreational complex of more than 11 million square feet.With a built-up area of 178,000 sq ft across eight floors, the hotel will have a restaurant, Costa coffee shop and gym. Nakheel’s hospitality expansion is bringing 18 new hotels and serviced apartment complexes, with over 5,800 rooms between them, to Dubai.