Hotel construction aimed at home market

The budget hotel chains are embarking on a fresh wave of hotel construction across the country with new developments aimed at cost-conscious domestic visitors rather than overseas tourists.

A recent report from agents Knight Frank said the budget sector continues to be the ‘engine driving the growth’ in the hotel sector and it is expected to account for 41% of all new hotels built this year. In 2019, around 7,500 new budget hotel rooms were added to the stock, an increase of 1,100 rooms on the previous year.

Growing demand

Travelodge recently unveiled plans to open more than 20 more hotels around London in areas beyond traditional tourist destinations. They are aimed partly at meeting growing demand from friends and relatives who are visiting Londoners who can no longer afford to keep a spare room or the space to put up visitors.

Two of the new Travelodge developments - a 113 bed hotel in Beckton in Docklands, where Segro is also investing, and a 78 bed hotel in Dagenham - involve a total investment of £22 million.

Meanwhile, Premier Inn is also expanding its footprint in outer London. In Romford, construction work started in February on an 85-bed hotel and restaurant for the hotel chain on the first three floors of a former retail space in the town’s Market Place. Boss (D&B) is the main contractor on the project, where construction work is set to continue for 13 months (Glenigan Project ID: 16147471).

Glenigan construction data highlights a series of other budget hotel schemes which highlight the healthy construction pipeline in the sector.

In Glasgow, tenders have been invited and detailed plans submitted for the £12 million Qtel scheme which involves the conversion of a former Dunnes department store into a 112-bed budget hotel and restaurant. Construction work on the project is set to start in the autumn and continue for 12 months (Glenigan Project ID: 19308995).

Meanwhile in Bristol, detailed plans have been granted for a 90-bed Travelodge hotel and restaurant at Harlequin Office Park. Construction work on the £8.3 million project, which is at the pre-tender stage, is set to start at the end of this year and run for 11 months (Glenigan Project ID: 19249821).

Building more

The budget hotel groups are also building more around the country’s lower-profile and regional airports. In Silvertown in east London, detailed plans have been granted for Ibis budget London City Airport in Newham which will involve a 180-bed hotel alongside 82 flats. The £12.2 million project is at the pre-tender stage, with work set to start in late summer this year (Glenigan Project ID: 00232095).

Meanwhile in Manchester, work started at the end of January on a £45 million hotel scheme for MAG Developments involving a 262-bed Ibis budget hotel alongside a 280-bed Holiday Inn scheme as part of the Airport City complex. BCEGI Construction (UK) is the main contractor on the scheme, where work is set to run for 26 months (Glenigan Project ID: 18144344).

Further reading on this topic: 

Travelodge continue to boost budget hotel construction sector