UK

The global economic crisis badly affected the UK economy, credit crunch decimated consumer confidence and with expenditure falling, marking a shift towards more competitively-priced hotels. With foreclosures up and the housing market down, pop-up hotels offer affordable and unique experiences. Pop-up design provide innovative and mobile structures, flexible room design and environment-friendly attributes. Temporary hotels are pre-built units, incorporated into a steel frame which can be easily demolished. Construction time is reduced by almost 50% compared to traditional methods as well as minimising noise, waste and hassle. Pop-up hotels are also portable transforming them into ideal choice for festivals, sports and outdoor events.

M-house and M-hotel (www.m-hotel.org) is the brainchild of M-hotel Creative Director, Tim Pyne. The hotel structure consists of individual units included in a steel construction building, tailored towards corporate customers for rent up to 3 months. The first unit is to be based in Hoxton, London opening late 2009.

“The M-hotel is intended to use land on a superficially temporary basis, because one of the problems we always have particularly in a crowded country as the UK is that people sit on land waiting for the land value to go up. The M-hotel concept can explore the opportunities to construct hotels in underdeveloped areas. The design permits for those structures to be easily dismantled, moved and relocated”.
Tim Pyne, Creative Director of M-house and M-hotel

Travelodge (www.travelodge.co.uk) opened its first modular hotel in Uxbridge in August 2008. Built from steel containers constructed and fitted in China, Travelodge plans to build nearly 40 hotels per year by 2020 - half are expected to be modular.

As green tourism demand increases, the appeal of temporary hotels will grow. Modular base, cargo container and prefabricated hotels will be sustainable alternatives for work, rest and play. Pop-up hotels will help transform unused buildings into community art venues, providing a dual function of hotel and art meeting place. Re-use projects can provide not only great benefits to communities through the transformation of old structures, but also by creating original and innovative hotel structures.

Future Outlook

Temporary hotels are expected to change the face of UK travel by attracting a larger customer base with their affordable pricing. The concept is expected to bring about long-term change in hotel construction and development. Pop-up hotels create an opportunity for operators to maximise operational efficiency and increase revenues but also support regeneration. Their temporary status allows businesses to reinvent themselves with less investment.

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