Premier Inn Swindon Town Centre hotel — Photo by Whitbread PLC
  • New hotel designed to operate without a connection to mains gas supply, powered entirely by renewable electricity. All new-build Premier Inns to be built to this specification from 2026.
  • Learnings from design and operation to inform emissions-reducing retrofit of Premier Inn estate - the goal being to remove mains gas connections from the estate by 2040.
  • Hotel to offer significant economic benefits to Swindon, with each Premier Inn hotel driving an average of £3.3 million in guest spending annually.

Whitbread PLC, the UK's largest hospitality group and owner of Premier Inn, today announced the opening of Premier Inn Swindon Town Centre - the first of a new generation of new-build Premier Inn hotels that will operate with 100% renewable energy.

Learnings from the hotel's design and operation will inform an emissions-reducing strategy for Premier Inn's hotel estate across the UK and Ireland and will contribute to Whitbread's target to remove mains gas connections across its estate by 2040 wherever possible.

The hotel's innovative features include:

  • An energy-efficient air-to-water Mitsubishi Q-Ton CO2 Heat Pump to heat water, low energy LED lighting with lighting controls and metering connected to a battery monitoring system with auto monitoring and targeting of energy use.
  • Solar photovoltaic panels installed on-site, with the hotel to purchase only renewable electricity from the grid - in line with all of Whitbread's owned operations in the UK and Germany.
  • A building envelope designed to meet BREEAM 'Excellent' standards, using an innovative Passivhaus-influenced 'fabric first' design to optimise energy use.
  • Minimised heat exchange with the outside through the use of natural sunlight and re-use of heat generated by electrical equipment.
  • Mechanical ventilation with passive heat recovery and an air source heat pump to keep the building at an optimal temperature in all seasons.

Premier Inn, Swindon Town Centre has been shortlisted for Built Environment Project of the Year in Edie's Net Zero Awards.

Whitbread's Force for Good sustainability programme is focused on enabling people to live and work well, while also protecting the environment on which we all depend.

In addition to the environmental benefits of the new development, the Premier Inn Swindon Town Centre hotel opens its doors with 46 team members employed, many of whom were recruited from the local area and were out of work before joining Whitbread.

As they readied the hotel for opening, the team undertook over 160 hours of volunteer work with the Salvation Army in Swindon to tidy, replant and repaint the gardens, workshop and emergency accommodation at Booth House in the town.

The team has also raised more than £1,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (GOSH), Whitbread's national charity partner in the UK, with fundraising ongoing.

Hotel website