easyHotel has acquired 8 franchised hotels in Amsterdam (3), The Hague (2), Rotterdam (1), Maastricht (1) and Brussels (1). The chain acquired them for €145 million from real estate private equity fund manager Crossroads Real Estate. The move adds 793 keys to its European portfolio.
The acquisitions come as part of easyHotel’s ambitious European growth strategy, and it harbours plans to become the pan-European leader of low carbon hotels. The wider cost-of-living crisis is resulting in a trend of more clients switching to affordable establishments.
easyHotel has further confirmed hotel additions in the pipeline. Two more properties are to be added to its owned/leased portfolio in Dublin this December and in Paris early next year. An opening in Madrid is also slated for late 2022.
The chain aims to expand its portfolio from 42 owned/leased and franchised hotels to 51 hotels in 13 countries over the next 18 months, and to reach a total of 100 owned and franchised hotels internationally by 2026. Franchising is key to its growth strategy and easyHotel has stated its intention to achieve 12,000 franchised rooms by 2027.
easyHotel has confirmed that the 8 Benelux establishments will remain open for business during the sale process.
This strategic acquisition is an important milestone in our plan to increase our presence in continental Europe from a strong UK base. Consumers place increasing importance on value, hence increasing demand for affordable hotels across Europe and the UK, a trend which we expect to continue given current inflation. We are seeing strong trading and market share gain across both our UK portfolio and the Benelux hotels, with figures exceeding 2019 levels and outperforming the market. Trading across our Benelux hotels has for example exceeded 2019 by +24% whilst our existing portfolio is on average up 37% compared to 2019, like for like. Our strong track record makes us ideally placed to service this growing segment with quality, value, low-carbon hotels in more central city locations across the continent. In December 2021, easyHotel raised €50 million to accelerate its growth plans and today’s announcement is just the start - we aim to have 100 hotels by 2026. With our latest developments and our new room model, we are aiming to invent a new breed of budget hotels that are more friendly to the planet and easier to use.
Karim Malak, CEO of easyHotel
Now is an exciting time for the Group as we deliver on our growth plan to increase our presence in Europe. This transaction demonstrates easyHotel’s intentions and our willingness to develop through acquisitions as well as freehold, leasehold or franchise hotels. Our pipeline is in a strong position for us to continue to develop and grow the easyHotel brand towards the objective of 100 hotels by 2026. We are currently strengthening our development teams across Europe to that end.
Gwenaëlle Pouy, Chief Development Officer & Head of Real Estate at easyHotel
Following a longstanding franchise agreement with easyHotel, Crossroads is delighted with the success and the growth across this portfolio of eight very well situated hotels, especially its performance since the end of the pandemic. We would like to thank all of the employees of easyHotel Benelux for their hard work during their time with us and wish them all the best for the future with easyHotel Ltd. We would also like to thank JLL for their support during the process.
David Gillerman, CEO of Crossroads Real Estate
