EasyGroup's first hotel opens

EasyGroup, the airline-to-cinema business, has opened its first EasyHotel in London this week with rooms starting from 20 a night.
The 34-bedroom hotel is in Lexham Gardens, between South Kensington and Earl's Court.

Only three of the bedrooms have windows and come in three sizes; 80, 70 and 60sq ft, decorated in the EasyGroup's distinctive orange.

Each room has a double mattress and quilt, en suite bathroom with towels, air conditioning and pay-as-you-go television, costing 5 for 24 hours, but there are no bars or restaurants.

In accordance with other EasyGroup products, room prices rise with demand.

The London hotel is owned and operated through EasyGroup, although future EasyHotels will be franchised, with the first, in Basel, Switzerland, opening next month.

EasyGroup chairman Stelios Haji-Ioannou said: "The path to expansion is franchising. I think we're filling a very nice gap between the unbranded B&B, which is unpredictable because you don't know what you're getting, and the cheapest of the branded chains, which sell at twice what we're offering."

He estimated franchisees would recoup initial refurbishment and rebranding costs in two years.