'Speedy' check-in reduces wait to 1 minute

The UK's largest hotel chain, Premier Inn, has
announced that they are launching their first fully self check-in hotel
at St Mary's Gate, Sheffield, reducing check-in time to under a minute
for guests.

The self check-in automated pods have already been successfully
trialled at the London King's Cross Premier Inn; they allow guests to
take complete control of their own booking when they arrive at the
hotel. The check-in process currently takes an average of 8-10 minutes,
but the new technology employed by Premier Inn will dramatically cut
this time down.

Customer experience at Premier Inn will be even smoother as
workstations will be housed in the reception area and manned by team
members solely dedicated to helping guest enquiries. The kiosks self
check-in will improve customer experience at Premier Inn as it will
manage the more formal element of the check-in procedure, leaving the
Premier Inn team free to focus on the needs of their guests.

Bob Cotton, Chief Executive of the British Hospitality Association
commented, "Its great to see Premier Inn investing in innovative
technology. These kiosks will undoubtedly increase the level of service
offered by Premier Inn – delivering a fast, efficient and speedier
experience at check-in."

Sarah Simpson, Product and Service Manager for Premier Inn commented;
'Premier Inn checks in over 23,000 guests every day across the UK, and
as the UK's leading hotel brand we continually innovate to meet the
changing needs of our guests. Feedback has shown that business
travellers like the time saving benefits that the kiosks provide,
whilst leisure guests benefit not only from this but also from the
increased accessibility, interaction and level of good service they
have with team members at the guest workstation.'

About Premier Inn … Premier Inn is the UK's biggest and
fastest-growing hotel brand with over 550 budget hotels and more than
38,000 rooms across the UK. Premier Inn bedrooms are 22m² and feature
en-suite bathroom, TV, and internet access for business guests. Premier
Inn offers customers a 'Good Night Guarantee' of a good quality room,
comfortable surroundings and friendly service, which is unique amongst
Britain's leading hotel chains.

Premier Inn was the first Britain-wide hotel group to sign up with
national tourist board VisitBritain; this means Premier Inn is now part
of a new quality assessment scheme, specially created for budget
accommodation.

A joint venture with Emirates has seen the Premier Inn brand develop in
the Gulf region, with its first budget hotel in Dubai in Spring 2008.
Premier Inn also has a joint venture with Emar-MGF to roll out 80
budget hotels in India by 2017. On a domestic front, Premier Inn is set
to be the largest provider of budget hotels in London by the time of
the 2012 Olympics.

Premier Inn has been confirmed as the leading Economy brand in the JD
Power European Economy Hotel Guest Satisfaction Survey 2008.