Ikea is looking to build 100 budget hotels across Europe ---- but no, you won't have to build your own bed.
The Swedish furniture giant is launching its biggest real estate development yet with the "budget design" hotels, which could be located in Germany, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Britain and Poland.
But travellers expecting to stack souvenirs on Billy bookcases or rest their heads on Malm beds may be disappointed. The hotels will not feature the Ikea name or its signature build-it-yourself furniture.
Inter Ikea, the company that owns the Ikea brand and concept, has owned hotel properties for years but the new project is its most ambitious yet.
"It's a large investment," said Anders Bylund, an Inter Ikea spokesperson. "If we reach 100 hotels it could be very large indeed."
The company is identifying and buying sites in countries where it already owns hotels while launching its first major push into Germany.
The number of hotels built could be more or less depending on available land, Bylund explained.
An established hotel operator will run the lodgings, which could represent the first hotel chain for Inter IKEA. The project will top its 11-hectare home, office and hotel scheme around the Olympic Park in London.
The market for cheap-but-stylish accommodation is growing on the continent, thanks to cheap air fare and increasingly budget-conscious business travellers.
"There's a clear demand for really good budget hotels in Europe," Bylund said. "We believe in general that people are looking for value from money."
The first new hotel will likely open in Germany in 2014, he said.
Inter Ikea has practically built a flat-bed furniture empire across the continent, with property assets totaling around 750 million euros.
In addition to hotels and other properties, the company owns 30 shopping malls in Europe. Two large retail centres attached to Ikea stores are currently under construction in China, Bylund said.
Next, Inter Ikea is looking at building student residences across Europe, another market they believe to be growing, he added.
"The reason we invest is to create the best possible core for our business, so we invest in property with a reasonable expectation of long-term value," he said.
Ikea published its financial performance publicly last week for the first time since the company was founded in 1943. It revealed the Ikea brand is worth 9 billion euros, making it one of the most valuable in the world.
Ikea Group, which operates most Ikea stores under franchise from Inter Ikea, raised net profit by 10 per cent to a record 2.97 billion euros in its 2010/2011 fiscal year.
