BUDGET hotel chain Yotel will make its debut appearance at ATM this year, alongside majority shareholder IFA Hotels & Resorts.
“The purpose of this visit is to unveil a prototype of the revolutionary Yotel hotel concept, for the first time in the Middle East,” says CEO Gerard Greene. “The Middle East constitutes a very important market for Yotel, both in terms of business and in investment and the region offers great potential for future locations as we roll out YOTEL around the world.”
Founded on the idea of providing travellers with a ‘visually and mentally stimulating hospitality experience at an affordable price’, Yotel is one of the world’s most radical concepts in the hotel industry. Drawing inspiration from British Airways first class and Japanese capsule hotels, Simon Woodroffe designed the Yotel hotel as a stylish, cost-effective and flexible alternative to expensive, drab chain hotels offering travellers the same standard fare all over the world.
A four-hour booking for a Yotel cabin costs Dh161 while a standard cabin for an overnight stay can be booked for Dh258 and a premium cabin for Dh452 overnight.
“Yotel is unlike any hotel that has been created before. The Yotel hotel is located within the airport terminal itself, so passengers whose flights are delayed, or who are awaiting transfers, do not need to leave the terminal at all. This can be applied to other transport hubs and even busy city centres, as the Yotel can be built on small plots of land within major complexes,” says Greene. Secondly, he adds, the revolutionary windows, which are internal rather than external, and look on to corridors that are naturally lit through reflective mechanisms and channelling of light saves space allowing the Yotel to be located inside airport terminals and tricky city centre locations while affording complete privacy to guests.
“This is what we would describe as a quantum leap in thinking and design. We wanted to offer ‘aspirational luxury at a low cost’. The YOTEL cabin measures a mere 10sqm, but is still very desirable, very unique, very convenient and luxurious!”
The first of YOTEL’s radical properties are set to open in the UK in late 2006. These will be located inside Terminal Four at Heathrow Airport and inside South Terminal at Gatwick Airport. More properties will open in central London in 2007.
“We expect this radical new concept to be embraced by the Middle East market,” says Greene.