Premier Inn prepares for summer staycation boom with 545 new rooms in seaside locations

Premier Inn is preparing for this summer’s anticipated staycation boom with 545 rooms set to open across five new properties in seaside locations.

The new-build hotels include the 100-bedroom Premier Inn at Sandown Seafront on the Isle of Wight, which will be the first to open tomorrow, along with a Cookhouse & Pub restaurant. Further hotels in Scarborough, Bournemouth, Blackpool and Thurso also set to open during spring and early summer.

The new openings, which are a mixture of freehold and leasehold developments, continue the strategic expansion of the brand into popular leisure and seaside locations across the country, where the business has been working to grow its presence in recent years.

Following the government’s reopening roadmap announcement on Monday, the group said it has seen an increase of almost 400% in searches on its website for coastal location stays in May, when hotels can reopen, a 330% increase for July and 240% for August summer holiday stays in coastal locations across the UK compared to last week.

The new openings will also include the 105-bedroom Premier Inn Scarborough North Bay, another 105 bedrooms in the Premier Inn Bournemouth West Cliff and 150 bedrooms as well as another Cookhouse & Pub at Premier Inn Blackpool North Pier. The Premier Inn Thurso, the brand’s most northerly hotel, will have 85 bedrooms and is anticipated to open in June.

Alex Flach, UK development director at Whitbread, said: “Nearly half of all Premier Inn customers stay with us on leisure breaks every year. Our leisure guests are a crucial part of our business and we have been steadily expanding our network in popular leisure and seaside locations to meet existing demand from our guests and cater for the growing trend for UK breaks and staycations.

“The five new Premier Inn hotels we are opening at coastal locations this spring/summer are part of our ongoing strategy of investing in high-quality locations where we are confident of strong, long-term demand for our affordable bedrooms. They mark the start of a busy year for new Premier Inn hotel openings and we are continuing to seek new acquisition opportunities to grow and improve our network in select locations across the UK and Ireland.”

The five new hotels are expected to create approximately 130 new jobs when fully occupied, with recruitment focused in the local area.

Premier Inn owner Whitbread has more than 800 hotels across the UK, comprising over 78,000 rooms and restaurant brands, including Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Bar + Block, Whitbread Inns and Cookhouse + Pub.

Photo: Carter Lauren Construction