High Tech Hotel in London Celebrates First Anniversary

An hotel in London which allows guests to use an app on Android, iPhone or Apple Watch to book, check-in, control lighting and room temperature and even add breakfast to their stay, has just celebrated its first anniversary.

The first hub by Premier Inn opened November 2014 in the heart of the city on St Martin’s Lane in Covent Garden.

Since opening, the hotel has looked after nearly 60,000 guests, seen an impressive 90%+ occupancy rate, and had over 40,000 downloads of its dedicated app.

The hotel has also supplied around 72,000 cups of complimentary tea and coffee to hotel guests in its Proven Dough Deli+Bar.

The stylish new brand, due to open a further 13 hotels in London and Edinburgh, predicts that it has saved guests a combined total of over 1,000 hours throughout the year by innovatively weaving technology throughout the hotel experience - with check-in kiosks, smart TV’s and seamless connectivity powered by super fast free Wi-Fi.

Both the expertise of the local hub team and hub’s bespoke local guide ‘Explore’ have proved invaluable in giving guests recommendations for enjoying the city. Using the hub app and augmented reality, guests can watch the in-room map come alive with recommendations of restaurants, theatres, museums and galleries right on the doorstep.

The first hub has also been designed with sustainability in mind - it uses 100% renewable certified energy supplied from the grid, from a variety of sources, including wind, hydro and bio-mass fuel. It also generates its own electricity while heating water for showers and taps through an efficient CHP unit. Energy efficient lighting throughout the hotel means lower energy costs while providing guests the ability to set their perfect room ambience.

In recognition of the commitment and innovation applied in designing the hotel, hub was awarded an ‘outstanding’ rating in Breeam’s environmental assessment – and is currently the only hotel in the UK to have achieved this highest rating.

Simon Ewins, Chief Operating Officer for hub by Premier Inn, said, “We are so proud of what hub by Premier Inn has achieved in its first year. We always knew that the demand was there for a brand that offered stylish and connected rooms, in the heart of the city at an affordable price. Digital connectivity, stylish design and our brilliant hub team are what sets us apart from competitors. We are so excited about expanding the brand with further investment in London and Edinburgh in the coming months. Our key focus in the design and build of the next hub by Premier Inn hotels will be how we move the brand forwards and expand our offering – we are looking at even more digitally enabled smart TV ‘s which allow mirror screening and a new bigger room type as a starting point.”

The second hub by Premier Inn, London Tower Bridge, is scheduled to open in a few weeks.

The hub by Premier Inn app is available to download at the App Store for iPhone and Apple Watch users, and Google Play for Android devices.

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