The Irish subsidiary of hotel brand Premier Inn, PI Hotels & Restaurants Ireland, submitted a planning application for the development to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council earlier this month. The proposed hotel would be a five- to eight-storey building and be located in Sandyford Business Park.
In response to questions, Matt Gent, development manager for Whitbread in Ireland, said the Sandyford hotel would create around 40 permanent jobs, which he hopes to be able to promote in 2027 if the plans get the go-ahead. Whitbread owns the Premier Inn hotel brand.
The hotel will also be powered solely by renewable energy
“Premier Inn has had a presence in Ireland for more than 10 years but it is in the last two that our openings have really ramped up,” he said.
“We currently offer our customers more than 1,000 bedrooms across the country from six Premier Inn hotels, and based on how well these hotels are performing and the undersupply of branded budget hotel rooms in Ireland, we recently uplifted our national bedroom target to 5,000 Ireland rooms.
“Sandyford is a significant location for Whitbread as it is our first new investment in Outer Dublin. Our intention is to bring our very best product to the successful business park including our enhanced Premier Plus bedrooms. In line with Whitbread’s sustainability targets, the hotel will also be powered solely by renewable energy.”
In June, Whitbread upgraded its plans for Ireland, targeting 5,000 bedrooms, 30pc more than its previous ambition. The group said it was seeking to expand its presence in Ireland in response to high demand and an undersupply of branded hotel rooms.
Company is targeting locations with strong leisure and business economies likely to experience a growth in visitor numbers
The UK-listed company, with a valuation of over £5.5bn (€6.6bn), said it had a list of target locations. These included additional sites across Dublin city centre and five new locations around Dublin.
Across the country, it was targeting locations with strong leisure and business economies likely to experience a growth in visitor numbers. These included Killarney, Kilkenny, Kinsale, Sligo, Westport and Tralee, alongside the larger towns and cities of Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, and Wexford.
Whitbread predicted that total consumer demand for hotel accommodation in Ireland will top 20 million bedroom nights towards the end of the decade.