Hop into Birmingham says city’s latest hotel operator

Birmingham’s latest hotel operator picked a novel way to celebrate its opening – staging a spacehopper race through the streets of the city centre.

The new easyHotel, in the Grade II Listed Rosebury Building on John Bright Street, is the company’s first venture in the city.

The unusual race was intended to demonstrate the venue’s location as a short hop from New Street Station and Grand Central.

The 86-room hotel, the first of four new easyHotels opening this year, has created 20 jobs.

Guy Parsons, easyHotel’s CEO, said: “The opening of easyHotel Birmingham marks an exciting time for the brand.  We are expanding rapidly both in the UK and across Europe and I’m delighted that Birmingham is the first city to open this year.

“Birmingham is a vibrant city with a rich history and so much to see and do. Along with its six universities and internationally reputed arts scene, Birmingham is also the UK’s fourth largest tourist destination. We are confident that (the) hotel will appeal to business customers and leisure visitors alike and look forward to building our brand presence in the city.”

The city attracts around 38 million visitors a year; a figure that is worth around £6.2bn to the local visitor econony.

Not surprisingly, Birmingham City Council is keen to attract more visitors and in order to to do, needs a suitable network of hotels catering for all budgets.

easyHotel will follow upo the Birmingham opening with new outlets in Amsterdam, Liverpool and Manchester later this year.