Ikea Hotel Furniture?

Ikea have always been a giant within the domestic furniture industry. They supply almost anything from the home including, outdoor furniture, cafe style tables and chairs, bedroom furniture as well as a whole host of other furnishings. So what is Ikea's next step in their business plan?

Ikea's next move is to create 100 budget hotels across the whole of Europe. The word budget is an understatement as the company plan to create the hotels and strip away any unnecessary items and services such as an in house restaurant, in an attempt to keep prices to a minimum. Inter Ikea, the business that owns the intellectual property rights of Ikea, are planning this to be their largest property investment yet and are even planning to build extra hotels in Poland, the UK as well as the Netherlands.

You may have thought that the rooms would be furnished solely with Ikea furniture, however you would be wrong. Harald Müller, Business Development manager said that it will be opened through an already established hotel operator and will endeavour to offer guests only the necessary basics. "We will strip away everything unnecessary, such as the in-house restaurants, and, instead, go for a good breakfast, fast Internet, fast check-in and no check out," The market for budget design hotels is a part of the industry that is growing rapidly. It seems that particularly in today's current economic climate, the need for travelling is on the increase as well as the demand for cheaper hotels. This is where Ikea plan to tap in on this market and become a more dominant force on the world.