EasyJet, easyCruise, and now easyHotel. The entrepreneur known for his no-frills ethos, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is opening his latest venture.
In keeping with the "easy" philosophy, frills are again being ditched in favor of value for money. EasyHotel is charging $35 a night for double rooms at its first hotel in central London. Following in the footsteps of Japan's capsule hotel concept, these rooms are being heralded as Europe's smallest.
Rooms come in three sizes -- small, really small and tiny. At 80, 70 and 60 square feet, there is little room to swing anything more than a carry-on bag.
"I believe there is a gap left by the branded chains that have moved upmarket. The Holiday Inn started as budget hotels but they are now charging $140 a night," says Haji-Ioannou, who slept at the hotel on its opening night.
"There is a gap above the bed and breakfasts, since they can be unpredictable and unreliable. They do not have sophisticated booking systems either."
Each room comes with a bathroom, but windows are optional extras, as is the television, which you can rent for ($9) a day.
Costs are kept to a minimum with just one person manning reception 24 hours a day, and there are no services, food, entertainment or public areas.
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/08/02/easyhotel.london/index.html
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Take me to the Hilton! :crazy:
In keeping with the "easy" philosophy, frills are again being ditched in favor of value for money. EasyHotel is charging $35 a night for double rooms at its first hotel in central London. Following in the footsteps of Japan's capsule hotel concept, these rooms are being heralded as Europe's smallest.
Rooms come in three sizes -- small, really small and tiny. At 80, 70 and 60 square feet, there is little room to swing anything more than a carry-on bag.
"I believe there is a gap left by the branded chains that have moved upmarket. The Holiday Inn started as budget hotels but they are now charging $140 a night," says Haji-Ioannou, who slept at the hotel on its opening night.
"There is a gap above the bed and breakfasts, since they can be unpredictable and unreliable. They do not have sophisticated booking systems either."
Each room comes with a bathroom, but windows are optional extras, as is the television, which you can rent for ($9) a day.
Costs are kept to a minimum with just one person manning reception 24 hours a day, and there are no services, food, entertainment or public areas.
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/08/02/easyhotel.london/index.html
==============
Take me to the Hilton! :crazy: