You can imagine the board room conversation between Alan Parker, the current chief executive of Whitbread, and his right hand man Patrick Dempsey: Parker:
"What are we going to do tonight then Paddy?"
Paddy: "Same thing we do every night Parker, try to take over the world!" At least that's what Dempsey revealed at the Arena event at London's Dorchester hotel today.
Dempsey made no bones about the fact that his main ambition was to one day be at the helm of the "largest budget hotel operator in the world".
He added that the group are looking to the Middle East, where there are currently four to five hotels under development, and India, where there are two.
However, he also said that the company would be opening just four pubs next year, and not 13 as was originally planned, a reflection of the tough conditions the pub industry is facing. Will Premier Inn work all over the world? Thoughts please...
Leave a comment
What a user pic? Get a Gravatar!