Hospitality giant Whitbread has announced today that it is to expand its budget hotel brand, Premier Travel Inn, into the Gulf region, following a joint venture agreement with Dubai-based Emirates Group.

Whitbread’s chief executive, Alan Parker, claims there is the potential for the brand to open up to 4,000 rooms in the region over the next few years.

Initially, the joint venture has identified three sites in Dubai to build Premier Travel Inn properties.

The first, a 300-room hotel at Dubai Investment Park will open at the end of 2007.

In 2008, a further 300-room property will open at Dubai Airport and 220-room hotel at Dubai Silicon Oasis.

The move is Premier Travel Inn’s first expansion outside of the UK, where it currently operates more then 470 hotels and over 31,000 rooms.

“Premier Travel Inn will be the first budget hotel brand to build a strong position in this part of the world, which is enjoying rapid growth in both business and leisure travel,” said Parker.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chair and chief executive of Emirates – which operates the hotel management company Emirates Hotels & Resorts – said: “Our partnership with Premier Travel Inn brings a fresh new offering in a hotel sector where demand is high.

“This initiative will appeal to the many business and leisure travellers who seek quality accommodation, but would prefer not to pay prices prevailing in the five-star market sector.”

Whitbread has also announced that it plans to develop around 100 new Premier Travel Inns in the UK from sites already within its estate and focus its pub restaurants business on joint sites with the budget hotel brand.

“It is clear that the combination of a Premier Travel Inn and a pub restaurant is a compelling customer proposition and provides industry leading returns,” said Parker.

“We have decided to focus our pub restaurants business on these joint sites and intend to dispose of the balance of our freestanding pub restaurants.”

He added that the company will also be reviewing the nature and size of its investments in TGI Friday’s and Pizza Hut. It also plans to double the number of Costa Coffee stores it operates by 2010.

In its annual results for the year to 2 March 2006, also announced today, Whitbread unveiled group pre-tax profits up 13.1 per cent to £181.1m and sales up 9.2 per cent to £1.6bn. Details: www.whitbread.co.uk