Spanish boutique hotel company to launch in the UK
Spanish boutique hotel company Room Mate Hotels is looking to launch in the UK, with its sights set on London for its first opening.
Kike Sarasola, CEO of Room Mate Hotels, told The Caterer the company is looking at existing properties in central London of around 80 bedrooms, and expects to announce definite opening plans by 2018.
He revealed the UK is already an important market for Room Mate, with 10% of its guests coming from the UK already, and the first hotel would be in a central London location, such as Mayfair, Soho or Knightsbridge. He also confirmed further UK expansion is a possibility.
Room Mate hotels offer free Wi-Fi in their properties, as well as ‘WiMate', a free Wi-Fi service available in the host city via a portable router that offers 100MB of data per day for up to five devices. The hotels also serve breakfast until noon and offer flexibility for late check-outs.
He said: "London is the place in the UK where we should already be open. It's always been a target for us and a key focus for our global expansion plans, along with cities such as Paris, Berlin, Los Angeles, San Francisco. It's a fantastic city, one that I've often travelled to and got to know over the years."
He added that the architect or interior designer would be chosen based on the area and the building: "It would be natural for us to consider working with a British designer and give the hotel a local feel."
The brand, founded in 2005, has 23 hotels in Europe, the US, Turkey and Mexico City.
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