New ‘youthful’ hotel plan for NEC
A NEW hotel aimed at a ‘younger market’ is set to be built in the grounds of the National Exhibition Centre complex in Solihull.
Dutch group Vastint Hospitality has unveiled plans to open its latest UK hotel close to the centre’s main entrance and Pendigo Lake.
The proposed development will be eight storeys tall and have 224 bedrooms along with a bar, gym and library.
The application site, in Perimeter Road, is currently used as car park but some of this will be reconfigured to accommodate the new hotel, however its guests will have to use other existing car parks on the campus.
Amsterdam-based Vastint Hos- pitality was established in January 2012 to develop and invest in hotels and student properties across Europe. It is partnering with Norwegian outfit Belvar, a hotel management company currently operating Marriott hotels under a franchise agreement.
The proposed new development at the NEC would be a ‘Moxy’ hotel which Marriott launched in 2013 in partnership with Swedish furniture giant Ikea in a bid to capture the attention of millennial travellers and a more youthful market.
It is likely to appeal to visitors attending concerts at the Genting Arena and some of the events at the NEC rather than the traditional corporate exhibition market.
If given the green light by borough planners, it will go into battle with several hotels on the complex including Crowne Plaza, Hilton and Genting Hotel at Resorts World.
Vastint Hospitality’s first UK hotel opened at Aberdeen Airport last year, also a Moxy brand, and it also has plans to open in several other locations across the UK such as Bristol, Chester and Southampton.