An Aberdeen business park has signed up its third hotel operator with the announcement Inter IKEA will build a 200-bedroom Marriott Moxy at the ABZ site next to Aberdeen Airport.
ABZ Developments Ltd say the combined schemes will add 470 bedrooms in the city and help ease Aberdeen’s long standing hotel bed shortage.
Marriott International and Inter IKEA Property Division’s, Inter Hospitality Holding, are rolling out the new Moxy Hotels brand and the first hotels to open their doors are expected to be in Milan, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt and Oslo.
In the UK, the ABZ site at Dyce, Stratford and London Royal Docks, are pencilled in for potential Moxy developments.
Moxy Hotels will target tech-savvy travellers who embrace new technology and properties will feature smart and stylish design, with bright open public spaces and complimentary state-of-the-art computers and Wi-Fi.
Guestrooms will be functional and well-designed, with upscale bath amenities, 42” flat screen televisions and built-in USB ports conveniently located throughout the room.
ABZ Development Ltd and Inter Hospitality Holding have issued a Proposal for Application Notice and are expected to submit a planning application to Aberdeen City Council by mid-May for development of the 200-bed 60,000 sq ft building.
Once planning consent has been granted, work on the £15 million hotel is expected to begin immediately, with completion by early 2016.
The Moxy Hotel will be the third hotel located at the ABZ Business Park, helping to address a long-standing hotel bed shortage in Aberdeen. Dominvs Group, which recently acquired a plot from ABZ at International Gate, is currently seeking changes to the existing planning permission for a 140-bedroom 4-star and a 130-bedroom 3-star offering under the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands.
ABZ Development director, Paul Stevenson, said confirmation that a Moxy Hotel is expected to open in Aberdeen is good news for the city.
He said: “Aberdeen suffers from a well-documented imbalance of hotel beds available for the thousands of international visitors who do business in our city. The prospect of hosting a Moxy hotel on our ABZ Business Park is tremendous news and not only goes some way to addressing the beds deficit but adds a distinctive new dimension to Aberdeen’s hotel offering.
“The Moxy brand is aimed at younger, value-conscious but technologically astute travellers and we are delighted Marriott and Inter Hospitality have chosen to locate one of the first UK hotels in Aberdeen.
“With a £13 million redevelopment of the airport terminal underway and passenger numbers forecast to grow by 20% over the next six years, we are doing our part to ensure that accommodation standards meet the ambitions of Aberdeen Airport and befit the city’s position as Europe’s oil capital.”
