Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, is pushing ahead with its expansion plans in Dublin city centre with three of its five hotels currently under construction.

The company is targeting 2,500 Premier Inn hotel rooms in Dublin as it responds to a recognised undersupply of branded budget hotel accommodation in the city.

A 97-bedroom Premier Inn on South Great George's Street will be the first of Premier Inn's city centre hotels to open when it welcomes guests this autumn. New Premier Inn hotels at Gloucester Street (113-bedrooms) and Newmarket (151-bedrooms) in the city will follow in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

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Other secured locations for Premier in Dublin city centre include a flagship 262-bedroom docklands hotel at Castleforbes, with developer Glenveagh PLC, and a 206-bedroom freehold development at Jervis Street. A 187-bedroom Premier Inn hotel at Morrison Quay in Cork is also planned.

Matt Gent, Development Manager for Premier Inn in Ireland, said: "We see enormous potential for Premier Inn in Dublin and it feels great to be on site and working closely with our development partners to progress our pipeline of city centre hotels following the return to full construction activity in early May. With a gradual easing of lockdown measures planned for the summer, and our first hotel in Dublin city centre opening this autumn at South Great George's Street, I am hopeful we will be able to explore new locations for Premier Inn in the city and grow our network in Dublin further."