Ikea plans to build 100 'budget design' hotels across Europe



Ikea may be associated with budget-friendly, flat-pack furniture, but the Swedish super company is keen to expand its influence by moving into the hotel business.

The hugely successful furniture retailer is looking to open 100 low-cost hotels across Europe.

The aim is to create 'budget design' properties with a boutique feel at affordable prices - an area considered one of the fastest growing in the hotel industry.

Home from home: Ikea is branching out from furniture and planning 100 design hotels across Europe

Similar businesses have sprung up all over Europe, such as the Chic & Basic brand in Madrid and Barcelona, Motel One, which has 39 hotels in Germany and is set to open a branch in Edinburgh, and London's Base2Stay.

However, those hoping to book into the Ikea Hotel may be disappointed as the chain will not use the retailer's name and will be run by an established hotel operator outside the company.

But the hotels will be available across Europe, starting in the UK, Netherlands and Poland, where Ikea is already active in the property markets, and new destinations, like Germany.

Harald Müller, a senior manager in Inter IKEA’s property division, told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper: ' We will announce within a few weeks the first location for our budget hotel in Germany and we are in talks with hotel operators to rapidly implement our concept.'

One of Ikea's biggest projects in the property market is the development of 1,200 homes and up to 500,000 square feet of commercial space, just a few hundred metres from east London's new Olympic Park.

It is also considering building student residences across Europe, possibly a good move considering its furniture is already a student staple.













