Premier Inn, UK’s largest hotel operator, has set sights on a portfolio of 2,687 rooms across properties in the Middle East in less than three years, up from 1,356 operating rooms today.

Darroch Crawford, managing director for Premier Inn in the Middle East, said: “This means an additional seven hotels comprising 1,331 mid-market rooms in four countries, spread over six cities – Doha, Qatar; Jeddah and Jubail, Saudi Arabia; Muscat, Oman; and Sharjah and Dubai, UAE.

Dubai’s Premier Inn Ibn Battuta Mall will have the largest key count outside of the UK at 372 rooms, he said.

“The Premier Inn Dubai Ibn Battuta Mall will open in the second half of 2016, just after the 150-room Premier Inn Muscat Al Quram and 320 rooms served by the two Saudi-based properties.

The hotel group has also planned to expand the Indian and Southeast Asian markets in 2015.

“Presently, we have 23 properties currently in various stages of build set to join Premier Inn’s growing portfolio worldwide. Indeed, we have plans for 50 hotels in the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia by 2018,” said David Vely, senior vice president development, Premier Inn Middle East, Africa and India. – TradeArabia News Service