Ikea announces plan for first flat-packed hotels
Ikea’s parent company has confirmed it is to open around 50 budget hotels in Europe in the next five years in partnership with Marriott International, with the first opening in Milan next this year.
Designs for the new Moxy Hotel brand were unveiled today at ITB in Berlin by Marriott, which is making its first play for the budget, youth travel market.
Ikea subsidiary Inter Hospitality announced last year plans to build up to 100 hotels in Europe with an established hotel partner (see earlier story).
Marriott executives say the company has pumped around $500 million into the project, with plans to build 50 hotels over the next five years and 150 properties over 10 years. It is looking for sites close to business parks, airports, train and underground stations in the UK, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Austria.
Moxy Hotels will have 150 to 300 rooms each, costing from £60 per night. They will have upscale bathrooms and guestrooms will be kitted out with modern technology including flat screen TVs and built-in USB ports, and there will be meeting rooms and snack bars.
The hotels won’t use Ikea furniture but the company is planning to mimic its stores’ flat-packed concept in the construction of the hotels, which will be built off-site and assembled in situ.
The hotels will be franchised and the first will be managed by Nordic Hospitality. They will be owned by Inter Hospitality.
Amy McPherson, president and managing director of Marriott International in Europe, added, "We see a huge opportunity to expand our market share in Europe with MOXY HOTELS. The economy tier in Europe represents nearly half of total room supply, yet only 20% of these hotels are branded. MOXY HOTELS will be a great addition to our portfolio of brands in Europe."
Peter Andrews, managing director of Inter Hospitality, said: "The agreement with Marriott and Nordic Hospitality gives us a great opportunity to use our development expertise to build a high-quality hotel property investment portfolio."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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