Riu Plans to Open First Plaza Hotel in London
Main Photo: The Riu Plaza, London
Date: September 2018
Location: Neathouse Place, Victoria Station, London SW1, UK
Name: Riu Plaza Hotel, London – opening 2020
No. of Keys: 350
Seller: The building was originally constructed in the 1960s and it was fully renovated in 1997, and occupied by BHP Billiton.
Owner: RIU, part of Tui, the German tour operator…The international RIU chain was founded in Mallorca by the Riu family in 1953 as a small holiday firm and is still owned by the family’s third generation.
The company specialises in holiday resorts and over 70% of its establishments offer its All Inclusive by RIU service.
With the inauguration of its first city hotel in 2010, RIU is expanding its range of products with its own line of city hotels called Riu Plaza.
RIU Hotels & Resorts now has 93 hotels in 19 countries which welcome over 4,5 million guests a year and provide jobs for a total of 29,985 employees.
RIU is currently the world’s 35th ranked chain, one of the Caribbean’s most popular, the 4th largest in Spain in terms of revenue and the fourth largest in number of rooms.
With the purchase of a new property in central London, one of TUI Group’s key hotel brands continues to deliver its growth roadmap.
From the end of 2020, the Riu Plaza Hotel will be the hotel chain’s first hotel to open in the UK. RIU Group pursues an ambitious expansion plan for the next five years, strongly focusing on new travel destinations, in particular in Asia and in large cities around the world where the city hotel brand Plaza will be established.
The 4-star hotel in the heart of London will be refurbished to embrace the latest trends regarding energy efficiency and sustainable operations and focus on design and comfort.
With more than 350 rooms and its city centre location, the RIU Plaza hotel mainly focuses on leisure guests seeking to explore London’s sights and attractions. Apart from the rooms, the hotel will feature a restaurant, a bar and an open-air terrace, which is far from common in central London.
RIU currently has six Riu Plaza hotels worldwide as well as two additional hotels currently undergoing construction: Riu Plaza España and the hotel chain’s second hotel in New York. The first city hotel opened its doors in Panama City in 2010. Since then, the portfolio has been expanded to include the Riu Plaza Guadalajara hotel in Mexico, Riu Plaza Miami Beach und Riu Plaza New York Times Square in the US, Riu Plaza Berlin in Germany and the Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin in Ireland.
Luis Riu, CEO of RIU Hotels & Resorts, explains that “location is very important for all our hotels, but for the Riu Plaza line it is essential that we are located very close to the places of cultural and tourist interest and very well-connected.
After years spent studying the best offers in the city, we are very pleased to announce this project, for which we estimate an investment of around 250 million euros to cover the purchase of the building and the refurbishment. The location is unbeatable, the building is in excellent condition and I think that in less than two years we will be able to celebrate the opening of our first hotel in London.”
London Victoria Station is the second-busiest station in the UK, after Waterloo, with an annual footfall of more than 75 million passengers using its underground, train and bus terminals. One of the many advantages of the hotel’s location is its direct connection to Gatwick airport in 30 minutes.
Some of the rooms will enjoy spectacular views, and the hotel will also have a bar and restaurant, and an open-air terrace, which is not common in central London.
The hotel chain is characterised by its strong commitment to the destinations where it settles, investing in long-term projects that involve the local community through its purchasing, employment and sustainability policies.
RIU is also making a big investment in the development and improvement of an increasingly sustainable operation, and all of its projects are guided by respect for the environments and the local culture and environment.
Price: Around €250m
Price per Key: €714,286 or £624,000
THPT Comment: Great to see RIU in the capital city, which follows on well from Dublin and New York…welcome to London! The original planning application was to make the site a 533 room Premier Inn and a 183 Hub by Premier Inn, as recently as June 2018.
First Seen: Tui website
The Hotel Property Team (THPT) is a small group of highly experienced business professionals. Between us, we provide a range of skills and experience which is directly relevant to those involved in the hotel property market.
For more information – Visit www.thpt.co.uk or email info@rrh.hmf.mybluehost.me.