Hotel giant Whitbread plc has announced it will open a new Premier Inn at Belfast International Airport in a £6m investment.
And it said it’s seeking to build hotels in the future in Belfast city centre, Enniskillen and Newry.
Whitbread, which is the UK’s biggest hotel company, said it had signed a leasehold agreement last month with JHT Hotels, part of JH Turkington & Sons in Portadown.
Construction of the 81-bedroom hotel is due to start this year, with opening expected in the middle of 2026.
Whitbread already operates seven Premier Inns in Northern Ireland and formerly owned Costa Coffee, before selling the business to Coca-Cola in 2018.
The Belfast International acquisition is the third airport leasehold development it’s signed up to since September, along with Manchester and Edinburgh.
The hotel will feature an on-site restaurant and bar, 125 parking spaces and seven mobility-impaired spaces, landscaped grounds, and improved site access.
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Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council granted planning permission for the development in mid-November 2024.
Whitbread said around 30 new jobs would be created when the hotel opens next year.
Jill Anderson, acquisition manager for Whitbread, said: “Securing such a prime location at Belfast International Airport reinforces our commitment to growing our network in key travel hubs across the UK and Ireland.
“The site offers an exceptional opportunity to serve the airport’s six million passengers annually, providing them with the quality, comfort, and affordability Premier Inn is known for.
“The Belfast acquisition is the third airport hotel we have signed in six months, reflecting the consistently strong and growing demand for travel and the excellent investment opportunities these locations offer.”
The new Belfast International Airport hotel will be built at the junctions of Airport Road, Antrim Road and British Roads – opposite its long-stay car park and within walking distance of the airport terminal building.
It is the first Premier Inn to be built in Northern Ireland since the opening of Premier Inn Lisburn hotel in 2019. Whitbread said it would be investing more than £6m in the new hotel on a capitalised lease expenditure basis.
Its existing seven hotels are in Belfast, Bangor, Carrickfergus, Lisburn and Londonderry, with two in Belfast.
News Catch Up: Tuesday 28th January