Ikea
may be associated with budget-friendly, flat-pack furniture, but the
Swedish company is keen to expand its influence by moving into the
hotel business.
The
hugely successful furniture retailer is looking to open 100 low-cost
hotels across Europe.
The
aim is to create 'budget design' properties with a boutique feel at
affordable prices - an area considered one of the fastest growing in
the hotel industry.
Similar
businesses have sprung up all over Europe, such as the Chic &
Basic brand in Madrid and Barcelona, Motel One, which has 39 hotels
in Germany and is set to open a branch in Edinburgh, and London's
Base2Stay.
However,
those hoping to book into the Ikea Hotel may be disappointed as the
chain will not use the retailer's name and will be run by an
established hotel operator outside the company.
But
the hotels will be available across Europe, starting in the UK,
Netherlands and Poland, where Ikea is already active in the property
markets, and new destinations, like Germany.
Harald
Müller, a senior manager in Inter IKEA’s property division, told
Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper: 'We will announce
within a few weeks the first location for our budget hotel in Germany
and we are in talks with hotel operators to rapidly implement our
concept.'
One
of Ikea's biggest projects in the property market is the development
of 1,200 homes and up to 500,000 square feet of commercial space,
just a few hundred metres from east London's new Olympic Park.
It
is also considering building student residences across Europe,
possibly a good move considering its furniture is already a student
staple.
Source:dailymail.co.uk