PREM GROUP TO OPERATE NEW FUTURISTIC HOTEL AT INNOVATION CAMPUS LIVING TOMORROW - BRUSSELS

PREM GROUP TO OPERATE NEW FUTURISTIC HOTEL AT INNOVATION CAMPUS LIVING TOMORROW - BRUSSELS

 

PREM Group has announced that it will manage and operate voco Brussels City North on behalf of Living Tomorrow. The 92-bedroom hotel is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in autumn 2023. The hotel will operate under the voco hotel brand, part of the IHG Hotels & Resorts brand family. 

 The property is not only the first of its kind in Belgium, the location will be unique too. The hotel is one of the main facilities of the new Innovation Campus of Living Tomorrow, a platform that shows how we will work, live, and travel in the future. The voco customers will be able to immerse themselves in these innovative experiences as well, with a glimpse of what the future of hospitality will look like.

IHG has partnered with innovation platform Living Tomorrow to oversee and deliver the technological processes and innovative platforms. Moreover, there will also be a digital personalised tour along different hubs, which immerse the visitor in different kinds of technologies such as AR,VR and 4D.

The technologies and personalised experiences which will be integrated and utilised at voco Brussels City North will place the hotel at the forefront of the hospitality industry in Belgium.

Jim Murphy CEO PREM Group

The state-of-the-art hotel will feature a restaurant and conference centre and will adjoin the Innovation Campus.

Located to the north of the city, the hotel will feature a striking 50-metre tower with huge glass windows providing panoramic views of the Brussels skyline. The site itself will be Europe's largest experimental lab for creating ideas and a vision for the future. In line with the voco hotels ethos, voco Brussels City North will stand out from the crowd and give guests a different choice.

Jim Murphy CEO of PREM Group is looking forward to the task: “We are delighted that Living Tomorrow has contracted PREM Group as the operators of this dynamic new property, and we are looking forward to the opening of voco Brussels City North. The innovation and technology which will be utilised in both the running of the hotel and by the guests themselves take the hospitality experience to the next level. The discerning traveller, demands and needs the latest technology to be available at their fingertips. We aim to make processes faster, more efficient, and even fun for the guest.”

And so is Willemijn Geels, VP Development Europe, IHG Hotels & Resorts: “I’m delighted to announce that we have contracted PREM Group to operate voco Brussels City North, Belgium. PREM Group has a strong track record in operating successful properties in Ireland, the UK and across Continental Europe and we are confident that the property will be a standout hotel within our group and in the Benelux region.”

Yin Oei, CEO, Living Tomorrow, said: “Living Tomorrow is focused on driving the future and we’re excited to partner with IHG to develop this exciting hotel – the first voco in Belgium. The values of voco hotels fit well with our desire to innovate and push boundaries and we know that the strength of the IHG systems will provide a stable platform from which to innovate.”

Interactive experiences

PREM GROUP CEO CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION TO SUPPORT HOSPITALITY SECTOR

PREM GROUP CEO CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION

 TO SUPPORT HOSPITALITY SECTOR

Cahernane House Hotel, Killarney. A morning view from  bedroom

Jim Murphy, CEO of Irish based international hospitality giant PREM Group has called for an immediate review of the reopening dates for hotels.  Under the current COVID- 19 government roadmap hotels are not due to open until the 20^th of July, which Murphy says will be far too late for hotels to try and salvage what will be left of the summer season. 

“There is no doubt that the government, the Chief Medical Office and the Irish public have done tremendous work in tackling and suppressing the coronavirus.   It is now, however time to urgently deal with the detrimental economic consequences that this virus has left in its wake.  Under the current roadmap restaurants can open for diners and guests at the end of June, this includes restaurants in hotels. However, those same diners can’t then stay at the very hotel in which they have dined. This seems ludicrous, if someone can go out and eat in a space where there are other people around them then it’s reasonable to think that it’s even safer for that same guest to move to their own, private hotel room after they have dined?  We would urgently call on the government to bring forward the planned reopening date for hotels, however if this were to happen the 20km travel restriction would also have to be lifted.  The travel restriction and the reopening date cannot be reviewed in isolation and must be addressed immediately in order to tackle a potential catastrophic crisis which the tourism and hospitality industry is facing.”

PREM Group was established in 1996 and is an international hospitality business operating in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. It owns and operates 38 properties and has 2,990 bedrooms across the various properties which include aparthotels operated under the PREMIER SUITES brand, business and leisure hotels, golf resorts and country house properties.  Hotels in Ireland which are owned by PREM Group include Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort, Wicklow, Osprey Hotel, Naas, Cahernane House Hotel, Killarney and The Hoban Hotel, Kilkenny.   The group has 1,046 people under direct report, 83% of these employees have now been laid off.

“We have great staff and a team of people who manage and run our hotels and properties as well as our business supports divisions which include our hospitality management division PREM Hospitality, RateWise, Sprint Digital, Trinity Hotel Groups, Rewards From Us To You, and our Premier Business Centres. All of these people are keen to get back to work, indeed the hospitality industry as a whole is very keen to get people back to work.  Hospitality staff are the backbone of our economy and are particularly important in rural areas which are dependent on tourism. There are now over 260,000 hospitality workers laid off in this country.  If the government do not take decisive, clear, and immediate action many small hotels and hospitality outlets may never trade again. There is also too much confusion and debate around the 1 metre versus 2 metre distance rule and too much uncertainty around VAT, business supports and the continuation of the job subsidy scheme.”

View from the dining room at Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort

Murphy believes that the government must listen to hospitality groups such as the IHF and IBEC who have been urgently calling for various measures to be put in place such as the removal of quarantine restrictions and the replacement of the 2 metre social distancing measure to 1 metres.

From a practical point of view the hospitality industry needs urgent support,” he said, “liquidity measures and business grants must be put in place to help tourism businesses to survive.  There are huge extra costs now associated with doing business in a COVID- 19 or post pandemic world, there is more training required for staff, strict and comprehensive cleaning and sterilizing and greatly reduced capacity for guests. We have to operate with more costs and fewer guests.”

“Our many hotel and hospitality colleagues have constantly asked for the reduction in tourism VAT.   This is so important and would secure the viability of Irish tourism into the future. ‘When we travel again’ is a hashtag that has been used a lot by many tourism outlets, but don’t forget that when our international visitors travel again Ireland must be seen as good value, we must be able to compete against popular tourism destinations abroad.” He also added that the job subsidy scheme for tourism and hospitality should be continued and that local authority rates and charges should be abolished for at least 12 months to allow businesses to get back up and running again.

He went on to say, “We have several properties which we own or operate right across Europe, our Belgian properties can open on the 8^th of June and on the 1^{st of} July we will open our flagship PREMIER SUITES PLUS property in Amsterdam.   If we can do business in Continental Europe then why not here?  We are falling way behind our European counterparts and our economy is suffering as a result. We are already providing accommodation for frontline and essential workers at several of our Irish hotels where we have strict COVID-19 protocols in place for months, why not apply the same procedures now for guests?  Our team and staff have been trained in our new procedures which include actions such as contactless check in at reception, extra deep cleaning of rooms and public spaces, social distancing and best practice at our spas and health centres. Ireland is way behind now, other countries are jumping ahead, and we are in real danger of losing the season.” 

The new PREMIER SUITES PLUS property in Amsterdam includes 88 luxurious one-bedroom units, 26 two-bedroom apartments and 1 three-bedroom apartment. The units have been designed with the medium to long stay business traveller in mind and are furnished with a fully equipped kitchen with combi-oven, microwave, hob, fridge, freezer, washing/dryer machine and coffee machine. There is also include a modern living area with a flat screen TV and luxury hotel bed from the Seventh Heaven range. Bathrooms are equipped with a power-shower and luxurious toiletries are provided. A housekeeping service is also being offered to residents once a week while a reception team is available 24/7.

PREM Group has extensive experience in the aparthotel space and the Amsterdam property is the group’s second serviced aparthotel property to open in Holland under the PREMIER SUITES PLUS brand having opened in Rotterdam in 2017.  PREMIER SUITES PLUS Amsterdam is PREM Group’s 16^th aparthotel product and is now its flagship property due to its luxurious finish, fit out and prime location.

“If decisive, clear and immediate measures are not put in place for the hospitality and tourism industry here in Ireland it will take years for it to recover,” said Murphy.  “The Irish government must now take urgent action and allow hotels to open now or at the very latest at the end of June, not in July or it will be too late in the season and may do irreversible damage to an already fragile hospitality industry.”

press release