hub by Premier Inn

What hub by Premier Inn does

hub by Premier Inn is a compact, technology-forward hotel sub-brand owned by Whitbread PLC (UK-listed) and launched in 2014 with its first hotel in Covent Garden, London. It operates 14+ hotels concentrated in central London (locations include Camden, City Bank, Clerkenwell, Covent Garden, Farringdon-Old Bailey, Goodge Street, Kings Cross, Marylebone, Paddington, Shoreditch, Soho, Spitalfields Brick Lane, Tower Bridge, West Brompton, Westminster Abbey, Westminster St James's Park) and Edinburgh (Haymarket, Rose Street, Royal Mile). The brand targets business and leisure travellers seeking value-priced, well-located rooms in prime UK city centres where standard hotel rates are high, offering a 'smaller rooms, big locations' proposition distinct from the main Premier Inn line.

The underlying product is a compact guestroom built around IoT-grade in-room technology: a touchscreen control panel for lighting and temperature, a 40-inch smart TV with free Wi-Fi, a high-powered monsoon shower, pull-out desk, and underbed storage. Three sub-products exist — hub Standard Room, hub Bigger Room, and hub Ambient Rooms (window-free rooms with self-dimming back-lit boxes and circadian light wells). Distribution is multi-channel: direct via premierinn.com and mobile apps, indirect via three GDS platforms (Amadeus, Galileo, Apollo), a direct-connect XML API to PMS/CRS, six travel management company partners (Click Travel, ATPI, Clarity, Gray Dawes, Inntel, Roomex), and six technology partners (Atriis, Hotelhub, Vibe, Conferma, DerbySoft, Katanox).

The revenue model is per-night room rental with a five-tier rate architecture (Business Flex, Semi-Flex, Advance, Standard, Non-Flex) of varying refund and amendment flexibility, plus a £5/24h Ultimate Wi-Fi upsell. Corporate demand is captured through Premier Inn Business (free online booking tool, up to 15% off Flex for registered business users, serving 160,000+ companies) and Premier Inn Business Pay (Worldline-powered interest-free credit account up to 6 weeks, consolidated VAT invoicing). Hub does not publish segment-level revenue; it sits within Whitbread PLC alongside the 800+ Premier Inn estate, with parent-level international expansion ongoing in Germany (40 hotels, 40+ committed) and Dublin (5 sites secured).

Name

hub by Premier Inn

Legal name

Whitbread PLC

Website

https://hubhotels.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

hub by Premier Inn is Whitbread PLC's compact, tech-enabled hotel sub-brand operating 14+ hotels across central London and Edinburgh, serving business and leisure travellers seeking value-priced rooms with touchscreen environmental controls, smart TVs, and monsoon showers in prime UK city-centre locations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Budget Hotel Accommodation

NAICS

Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (72111), Traveler Accommodation (7211)

SIC

Hotels & Motels (7011), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Tech-Forward / Smart Lifestyle Hotels (THAGADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Micro-Hotels (THAGABAE), Urban Limited-Service Hotels (THAGABAH)

Keywords

• Compact city hotels
• Budget hotel accommodation
• Business travel lodging
• Smart hotel rooms
• Hotel booking platform

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Hotel Room Accommodations: Revenue generated from renting compact hotel rooms to business and leisure travelers. Rooms are priced per night with rates varying based on demand, booking lead time, and location. Multiple rate options available including Business Flex, Semi-Flex, Advance, Standard, and Non-Flex with varying cancellation and amendment flexibility.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

hub by Premier Inn operates compact, smart hotel rooms in prime central London and Edinburgh locations, featuring touchscreen control panels for lighting and temperature, 40-inch Smart TVs, monsoon showers, and free high-speed Wi-Fi. The brand offers three distinct room types (Standard, Bigger, and window-free Ambient) aimed at business and leisure travelers seeking value-priced, technology-enabled city centre accommodation, with rates available through premierinn.com, the Premier Inn mobile app, and a corporate booking platform.

Product overview

hub by Premier Inn is a sub-brand of the Premier Inn hotel chain offering compact, smart hotel rooms in prime city centre locations (London and Edinburgh). The product portfolio includes hub by Premier Inn (compact smart rooms launched in 2014), ZIP by Premier Inn (essentials-focused business stays launched in 2018), and the parent Premier Inn brand. Business-facing offerings include Premier Inn Business (free online booking tool with up to 15% discount), Premier Inn Business Pay (interest-free credit payment solution), and Direct Connect API (XML-based booking integration for distribution partners). All properties offer free Wi-Fi with premium Ultimate Wi-Fi upgrades available. The platform provides multiple rate options including Business Flex, Semi-Flex, Advance, Standard, and Non-Flex rates with varying flexibility levels. Additional services include Amazon Lockers, CleanProtect cleaning protocols, and electric car charging infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• hub Standard Room: Compact rooms with comfy bed, monsoon shower, 40-inch TV, pull out desk and underbed storage.
• hub Bigger Room
• hub Ambient Rooms
• ZIP by Premier Inn

Products and services

• hub by Premier Inn (hotel brand)
• hub Standard Room
• hub Bigger Room
• hub Ambient Room
• Premier Inn Business
• Premier Inn Business Pay
• Direct Connect API

Quantifiable outcome

• 160,000+ companies trust Premier Inn for business travel

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Click TravelcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClick Travel is a travel management company partner providing booking access to Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn properties for corporate clients through their online booking tool.
• ATPI GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorATPI Group is a global travel management company offering Premier Inn booking access through their corporate travel platform.
• Clarity Business TravelcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClarity Business Travel provides corporate travel booking services with access to Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotel inventory.
• Gray DawescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGray Dawes is a travel management company partner enabling corporate clients to book Premier Inn accommodations.
• InntelcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInntel provides hotel booking solutions and travel management services with Premier Inn inventory access.
• RoomexcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoomex is a travel management company offering booking access to Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn for business travelers.
• AmadeuscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor GDS platform providing global distribution access to Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotel inventory for travel agents and TMCs.
• GalileocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGDS platform enabling travel industry professionals to access and book Premier Inn accommodations.
• ApollocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGDS platform (part of Nexum) providing Premier Inn booking access for travel management companies and agents.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• The Hoxton: The Hoxton is a boutique lifestyle hotel brand with urban locations in London and other major cities, competing for design-conscious millennial business and leisure travelers with hub at the upper-budget tier.

Direct peers

• easyHotel: easyHotel offers compact, no-frills rooms in prime city-centre locations across the UK and Europe — a budget micro-hotel concept targeting similar price-sensitive travelers as hub.
• Z Hotels: Z Hotels operates compact, well-designed city-centre rooms across UK cities at budget-friendly rates, directly comparable to hub's compact-room, prime-location model in London and other urban markets.
• Moxy Hotels (Marriott): Moxy is Marriott's compact, tech-enabled select-service brand targeting millennial business travelers in urban locations worldwide, with comparable small-footprint rooms and digital-first booking.
• citizenM: citizenM operates compact, tech-forward lifestyle hotels globally with touchscreen room controls and modular XL rooms — the closest direct competitor to hub's smart-room concept in the urban micro-hotel category.
• Yotel: Yotel runs compact, design-led urban hotels with adjustable SmartBeds and connectivity features, targeting similar price-sensitive business and leisure travelers in major cities including London.
• Motel One: Motel One is a German design-led budget hotel chain expanding across European city centres, with comparable compact but stylish rooms and a focus on business and leisure travelers in urban hubs.

Broad incumbents

• Premier Inn (parent brand): The parent Premier Inn brand operates 800+ UK budget hotels and serves as hub's broader incumbent sibling; it competes at the standard budget tier while hub targets the compact, tech-enabled niche above it.
• Travelodge: Travelodge is one of the UK's largest budget hotel chains with broad nationwide coverage, competing with hub for value-conscious travelers but without hub's compact tech-enabled positioning.
• Holiday Inn Express: Holiday Inn Express is IHG's limited-service compact brand with strong UK presence, offering comparable compact urban rooms with a global loyalty programme that hub lacks.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/premierinn
• Facebookfacebook.com/premierinn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hub-hotels-by-premier-inn
• Instagraminstagram.com/premierinn
• TikToktiktok.com/@premierinn.uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about hub by Premier Inn