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The Future’s Bright… The Future’s Orange
Traditional Bed & Breakfasts could soon be a thing of the past
if the founder of EasyJet, Stelios Haji-Ioannou has his way...
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Along with fish and chips bundled in paper and the odd Mr Whippy, a
good Bed & Breakfast rates high on my list of great British holiday
traditions. I have many a fond memory of family holidays by the coast
or romantic weekend breaks in the city, relaxing in the cosy lounge of
a B&B, discussing the best cafes/bars/restaurants in town over a
cup of tea with my hosts and waking up to the delicious smell of a home
cooked English breakfast the next morning. Even those that bare an
uncanny resemblance to my Grandparent’s bedroom are welcoming in a
comforting sort of way, like stumbling across a precious fossil nestled
amongst the pebbles on a beach.
Yet traditional Bed & Breakfasts could soon be a thing of the past if the founder of EasyJet, Stelios Haji-Ioannou has his way. The master of no frills commercialism now plans to expand his empire and paint the town orange with his own brand of EasyHotels - and yes, they are as cheap as the name suggests.
With rates starting from just £10 a night many privately owned B&Bs will find it difficult to compete, a fact that Stelios is counting on: “many customers are used to staying in unbranded, family-run Bed-and-Breakfast places. There are thousands in London. That is where we will generally take our customers from.” I suppose you have to admire his honesty at least, if not the properties that EasyHotel already own in London and Basel.
“We took over a property with 20 rooms and converted it to 34 rooms,” he boasts, “We’re not selling this as a place where you spend lots of time; you walk in, sleep, shower and leave.” Sounds delightful.
Ever the businessman, Stelios doesn’t plan to confine his franchise to Britain: “There are hundreds of Bed-and-Breakfast hotels in Europe that could be converted.” In fact, as we speak an EasyHotel has already sprung up in Switzerland, spelling disaster for quaint B&Bs across the EU. As for the rest of us, the future’s bright… the future's orange.
Yet traditional Bed & Breakfasts could soon be a thing of the past if the founder of EasyJet, Stelios Haji-Ioannou has his way. The master of no frills commercialism now plans to expand his empire and paint the town orange with his own brand of EasyHotels - and yes, they are as cheap as the name suggests.
With rates starting from just £10 a night many privately owned B&Bs will find it difficult to compete, a fact that Stelios is counting on: “many customers are used to staying in unbranded, family-run Bed-and-Breakfast places. There are thousands in London. That is where we will generally take our customers from.” I suppose you have to admire his honesty at least, if not the properties that EasyHotel already own in London and Basel.
“We took over a property with 20 rooms and converted it to 34 rooms,” he boasts, “We’re not selling this as a place where you spend lots of time; you walk in, sleep, shower and leave.” Sounds delightful.
Ever the businessman, Stelios doesn’t plan to confine his franchise to Britain: “There are hundreds of Bed-and-Breakfast hotels in Europe that could be converted.” In fact, as we speak an EasyHotel has already sprung up in Switzerland, spelling disaster for quaint B&Bs across the EU. As for the rest of us, the future’s bright… the future's orange.
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