Whitbread will unveil a new “no-frills” version of its Premier Inn brand today as it seeks to boost its hotel business after it sells Costa Coffee.
The company will launch its first Zip by Premier Inn in Cardiff in February, with rooms from £19 a night, and aims to open three or four before deciding whether to introduce them more widely.
Simon Jones, the Premier Inn managing director, said that consumer research and a trial of six Zip rooms at its hotel in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, had established that guests were willing to forgo large rooms, central locations and “bells and whistles” if it saved them money. The average price of a standard Premier Inn room is £57.
