The ribbon was cut on the 630-bedroom hotel by Whitbread’s managing director Patrick Dempsey and Employment Minister Mark Hoban. It is one of nine Premier Inn’s to be opened inn Greater London by the end of 2013 as part of a major expansion drive for the chain.
“This is a really big opening and a significant occasion for us,” said Dempsey earlier today (29 November). “It’s also a great opportunity to share with the Employment Minister is what we at Whitbread are doing towards helping employment and training - our target is to create 10,000 new jobs over the next three years.
With Premier Inn London Gatwick Airport igniting a £60m investment into the local economy and creating 77 new jobs for people in the nearby area, Dempsey was quick to highlight the positive work that the UK’s largest budget hotel chain is doing to tackle youth unemployment.
Job creation
“There are three areas. First, we’re focusing on apprenticeships; giving people skills for life, taking young people in. This year we’re going to have done over 500 apprenticeships, with about 1700 people going through learning.
“The second area is around structured work placements; getting people to come from school to experience what it’s like to work in a hotel. We have an ambition for 500 structured work placements a year as we move forward.
“The last area, which I think is particularly relevant to Mr Hoban, is tackling youth unemployment. One million 16 to 24-year-olds are unemployed today. We will take 50 per cent of our new jobs from that population.”
Hoban added: “Tackling youth unemployment is a priority for the Government. It’s great to see companies like Premier Inn continuing to expand and being passionate about getting young people and the long-term unemployed back into jobs.”
Premier Inn expansion
As with all properties under the brand, each bedroom at Premier Inn London Gatwick Airport caters for up to two adults and two children and includes an en-suite bathroom, king-sized bed, TV with Freeview and 30 minutes free Wi-Fi. The group also offers a no quibble ‘Good Night Guarantee’.
Meanwhile, construction work has started on the conversion of the 1970s-built Exchange Buildings office block in Birmingham, into a new 140-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and restaurant which will open in August next year. Premier Inn is currently the largest provider of budget hotels within the M25, with aims to increase the number of rooms by 50 per cent and double is size in the capital by 2016.