News

Premier Inn goes green in Sussex

12 Jan 2010 by AndrewGough

Premier Inn Burgess HillHospitality group Whitbread has unveiled plans to open its second eco-friendly Premier Inn later this year.

The new-build Burgess Hill Premier Inn, West Sussex, will use the same green technology as its Staffordshire-based predecessor, the Premier Inn Tamworth, which uses 80 per cent less energy than a standard hotel according to Whitbread (see online news January 1 2009).

The 60-room budget hotel will also sit alongside the first “low-carbon” Beefeater restaurant with space for 220. Like the new Premier Inn, the restaurant will be built from sustainably sourced wood which is good at keeping in heat.

Whitbread has hailed both Tamworth and Burgess Hill as “the latest evolution in environmentally-friendly budget hotels” and “Britain’s greenest hotels”. Trials at Tamworth, since its opening in December 2008, showed savings of around 70 per cent on its carbon footprint and 60 per cent on water consumption.

Whitbread has promised to cut the group’s carbon emissions by 26 per cent by 2020 on 2009 levels as part of a wider corporate sustainability programme.

The Burgess Hill development will use ground-source heat pumps for natural hot water as well as heating and cooling, rainwater harvesting and water recycling system, and better heat insulation.

Lighting will be improved with automated light switches and “sun pipes” which direct natural light throughout the hotel.

Finally, showers will get the green treatment, with low-flow showerheads and heat-recovery systems for capturing and reusing energy for use by the hotel’s boilers.

Premier Inn Tamworth opened its doors to guests in December, and at the time, Whitbread’s CEO Alan Parker said the green technology used was a first for the UK.

Aside from the behind-the-scenes eco-friendly innovations, both hotels offer the same amenities and facilities as a standard Premier Inn property.

Visit premierinn.com for more information.

Report by Andrew Gough

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