It appears that IKEA, the largest furniture retailer in the world, is venturing into the hotel business. The global retailer plans to build a budget-conscious hotel chain across Europe in hopes to offer travelers a way to travel in style without spending the big bucks.
Photo via Architizer
Although IKEA is behind the project, the 100 or so hotels will not bear the IKEA name. Why is IKEA getting into the hotel chain business? According to Harald Muller, senior executive at the property unit of Inter IKEA, “Budget designer hotels’ is today the fastest developing hotel segment.” He also states that the hotel will not feature any IKEA furniture.
The boutique style hotels will target IKEA’s existing fan base and will “mix high design with modest pricing.” Architizer writes that “IKEA also has plans to develop an 11-hectare site near London’s Olympic Park into a mixed-use residential/office/retail neighborhood. It would include several seven-to-eleven story buildings as well as a walkable main street.”
Would you stay at an IKEA hotel?
