Yotel to open at London airports
Budget hotel group Yotel has secured funding to open its first two sites at Heathrow and Gatwick airports in mid-2006.
A 40-cabin hotel is planned for Heathrow's Terminal 4, while a 50-cabin hotel will be built in Gatwick's South Terminal after leases were agreed with airport operator BAA. Each cabin comprises a double rotating bed, techno walls, monsoon shower, pull-down desk, flat-screen TV and Wi-Fi access. The cabins, described as "luxury business class at low prices", cost about £80 a night.
Customers can book cabins in four-hour blocks and can check in online from the cabins.
Yotel was founded by Yo! Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe and chief executive Gerard Greene. The hotels are funded by a major investment from Kuwaiti-based IFA Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of International Financial Advisors (IFA) and facilitated by Univest Group. Greene said: "The recent investment by IFA Hotels & Resorts will facilitate our global expansion plans with BAA."