Premier Inn UK reopening plans  closely watched by Irish hoteliers  

Whitbread-owned Premier Inn's reopening and the way it gets back to a financially sound footing as the economies in Britain and Germany open up will be closely watched by Irish hoteliers.

The owner of Premier Inn, Britain's largest budget hotel chain, is looking to repeat last year's boost from stay-at-home holidaymakers for its seaside locations as it waits for vaccinations to be fully rolled out and restrictions on business travel to be lifted. 

Its owner Whitbread operates a large number of budget hotels in Britain, a small number in the Republic and the North, and wants to resume its big plans to expand into Germany in place before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.