UK holds 'great potential' for Motel One Group
The company's chief marketing officer Ursula Schelle-Müller told BigHospitality that despite rapid expansion into the UK over the last three years, the company still saw 'huge' potential for further growth in the market.
"We are still looking for good sites in London, but also for new sites in Liverpool and Birmingham. We don't have a saturation point, but the nature of what we offer means we are suited to city centre locations," she said.
Motel One's sixth hotel is scheduled to open in Manchester's Royal Exchange autumn next year following the success of its first in the city - Motel One Manchester Piccadilly - which opened last year. It will be followed by the group's first in Glasgow in 2018.
Budget design
Schelle-Müller said Motel One, which opened its first UK site in Edinburgh in 2013, had been well-received by those who knew it, but she recognised there was further brand recognition work needed to cement it as serious competition to the UK's main budget brand leaders Premier Inn and Travelodge.
"Guests love our concept," she said. "We are a budget hotel, but we pay attention to the details and those that stay are likely to return - 25 per cent of our business is repeat. However, we're conscious that we're not that well-known a brand in the UK yet."
Motel One, founded in Munich in Germany in 2000, runs 'design-led hotels in city centre locations at budget prices'. Each property takes inspiration from its surrounding area with custom-made furnishings featuring in each one. Rooms are an average of 16 sq m with hotels offering bar facilities with drinks tailored to the area (Edinburgh has large selection of Scotch whiskies while London has 16 different gins) and a limited snack menu.
The company operates 54 hotels across Europe, five of which are in the UK. It currently operates two hotels in Edinburgh, one in Manchester, one at Tower Hill in London and one in Newcastle.
