UK's largest Premier Inn opens at London Gatwick Airport

The UK's best value hotel chain*, Premier Inn, has celebrated a double milestone, with the announcement of its 50,000th room at the opening of its largest ever Premier Inn at Gatwick Airport.

The new 630 bedroom hotel, which has created 77 new jobs for people in the local area, was officially opened by Whitbread Managing Director Patrick Dempsey, and Employment Minister, Mark Hoban MP.

Premier Inn London Gatwick Airport, which will contribute £60 million to the local economy, follows the recent opening of the high profile Premier Inn site on Leicester Square, and is one of nine hotels to be opened in Greater London by the end of 2013 as part of a major expansion drive for the chain.

Patrick Dempsey, Managing Director at Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants said: "Reaching 50,000 rooms across the portfolio is a great achievement that we are very pleased with. Our growth across Greater London is particularly exciting as it means we can offer even more people a great night's sleep in the best locations and we look forward to opening many more over the next few years."

Mark Hoban, Minister for Employment, said: "Tackling youth unemployment is a priority for the Government, and that's why we launched the Youth Contract offering nearly 500,000 opportunities for young people to pick up the skills and experience they need to find work.

"It is great to see companies like Premier Inn continuing to expand and being passionate about getting young people and the long-term unemployment back into jobs."

Jon Walters, General Manager at Premier Inn London Gatwick Airport, said: "We are delighted to be opening our biggest Premier Inn hotel allowing people who are travelling to and from Gatwick Airport to have a great night's sleep."

Premier Inn is the UK's biggest hotel chain and is currently the largest provider of budget hotels within the M25 area with aims to increase its number of rooms by 50% and double its size in London by 2016.

Premier Inn offers all guests a no quibble 'Good Night Guarantee', which means if customers are not 100% satisfied with their stay they will get their money back.

Rooms are now available to book at www.premierinn.com each bedroom caters for up to two adults and two children (aged 15 and under) and includes an en-suite bathroom; a king size bed; remote control TV with Freeview; tea/coffee making facilities, and a spacious desk area with 30 minutes free Wi-Fi Internet access. The hotel also offers the All You Can Eat 'Premier breakfast'.

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Notes to editors:
*Best Value Hotels in the UK: Research conducted by YouGov found Premier Inn top in BrandIndex Value measure when reviewing all data between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011. All data was collected using an online survey and respondents were members of the YouGov panel. The 21,383 strong research sample for this study was sampled and weighted to a UK nationally representative 18+ adult profile. Fieldwork was conducted daily between 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011. The Value metric measures perception of the brand's price –point value offering: "Which of the following brands represents GOOD/POOR VALUE FOR MONEY?" It does not mean "cheap" or "expensive", but that the brands offer a customer a lot in return for the price paid.

About Premier Inn:
Award-winning Premier Inn is the UK's biggest budget hotel brand with over 600 budget hotels and more than 50,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland, including hotels at Gatwick north terminal. Premier Inn bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, TV with Freeview, and Wi-Fi internet access. All Premier Inns feature a bar and restaurant; situated inside the hotel or adjacent, offering a wide range of food choices.

Premier Inn has hotels in Dubai and India. On a domestic front, Premier Inn aims to be the largest provider of budget hotels in London (within the M25) by 2012.

Premier Inn supports WaterAid, the international charity whose mission is to overcome poverty by enabling the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Details can be found at www.wateraid.org/whitbread.

PR Contact:
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www.premierinn.com