The hotel’s first UK premises is located on Westminster Bridge Road, near Waterloo Station and the South Bank.
The site, the group’s 10th worldwide, is the first of 15 scheduled to open across the Greater London area by 2017, creating 1,500 rooms and representing a total investment of £150 million.
With typical room rates starting from £35 per night, Tune Hotels’ business model is similar to no-frills airline Ryanair, with a pay-as-you-use structure for services such as hairdryers, tea and coffee facilities, TV and WIFI.
As with low-cost airlines, guests will be encouraged to book early online to secure the regular lower promotional prices, which in London will start from £9 per night.
Basics
But Tune insists that the rooms will not compromise on quality of the basic essentials offered with the room. The Group says that, despite the low prices, the rooms will still offer ‘excellent beds, powerful showers, air-conditioned rooms, central locations, a clean environment and 24 hour security’.
Mark Lankester, chief executive of parent company Tune Group, said: “By choosing to stay at a Tune Hotel, guests can have a safe and comfortable night’s sleep without breaking the bank.”
He added: “For non essential items, such as TV and hairdryers, guests only pay if they need them. This means that unlike other hotels, guests not using the extra facilities won’t be charged for them as part and parcel of the room price. It’s about low prices, great central locations and our guests having more in their pocket to spend out and about in London.”
However, a recent French entrant into the UK budget hotel market, Louvre Hotels, is already looking to sell its Premiere Classe pay-as-you-use property in Coventry.
Louvre put the premises on the market alongside 17 of its two-star Campanile sites for £70m.
Tune Group
The Tune Hotels chain opened its first hotel in Kuala Lumpur in 2007 and now operates nine hotels in destinations across Asia, including Penang and Bali. The company hopes to operate 100 hotels across the world by 2015.
Tune Hotels is part of Tune Group, owned by Tony Fernandes, founder of low-cost airline AirAsia and team principle of the Lotus Formula 1 racing team.