Planning approval for 276-room Manchester Airport hotel

Planning approval has been granted for Whitbread Plc to build a 276-room Premier Inn hotel at Manchester Airport, the chain’s largest in the region.

The hotel is the latest scheme to be approved within the wider MIX MANCHESTER development, a 60-acre regeneration project which aims to deliver a major science, innovation, and manufacturing campus at the airport. Boutique hotel operator, Dakota Hotels, is already on site constructing a 154-bedroom hotel within the area, while Premier Inn anticipate construction beginning in 2025 following planning consent being granted.

Jill Anderson, Acquisition Manager for Whitbread, said when plans were revealed in September 2024,

“We are serious about continuing to grow Premier Inn across the north of England and offer the flexibility, security, and development expertise to acquire large hotel sites as we have done at Manchester Airport.  Securing what will become the largest Premier Inn in the north of England is a significant moment for Whitbread and one which we are proud to have delivered. With passenger numbers growing strongly at the airport I’m sure it will be a popular choice for our customers when we open the doors and start welcoming our guests.”

Whitbread Plc will develop a site just 400 metres from Manchester Airport Terminal 1 and 2 adjacent to the airport’s transport interchange. The nine-storey building will be the chain’s largest site in the North of England, and was approved under delegated powers as part of the Strategic Regeneration Framework for MIX MANCHESTER rather than going before Manchester City Council’s Planning Committee.

The new hotel will add to Premier Inn’s bedroom stock in the catchment of Manchester Airport by 50% once complete. In Stockport, the brand is planning an expansion of its Cheadle Royal site, while elsewhere in Greater Manchester construction is underway on a new Manchester city centre hotel on Rochdale Road, due to open in 2026 as part of an investment in improving its offer for visitors to the city-region.

Approval for the Manchester Airport site also follows the announcement of plans by Premier Inn to open hotels serving other UK airports. Plans for a site at Edinburgh Airport were announced in late 2024, with an 81-bedroom site serving Belfast airport confirmed in January.