Skift Take
With a turnaround artist at its helm, EasyHotel is finally poised for its long-awaited expansion. Recent investment in the company is a wager that affordability will matter more to some travelers than whether a hotel is Instagram-ready.
Early Check-In
Editor’s Note: Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill brings readers exclusive reporting and insights into hotel deals and development, and how those trends are making an impact across the travel industry.
EasyHotel has always been the success story of tomorrow. That's been true since EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou invented the budget hotel chain in 2004.
The latest CEO, Karim Malak, believes the hotel operator can fulfill its potential — at long last — thanks to a changed ownership and a retooled strategy.
EasyHotel launched with the idea of being as successful as EasyJet, even though the two companies have no ties other than similar marketing.
EasyJet grew from a tiny carrier to serving 96 million passengers in 2019 (before the pandemic hit). But EasyHotel, which planned to expand to hundreds of hotels, has struggled. In 2018, its UK properties — the biggest chunk of its portfolio — only eked out a profit before tax of about $1.1 million (£872,162) on revenue of about $15 million (£11.3 million).Investors ICAMAP and Ivanhoé Cambridge acquired a large stake shor5tly before the pandemic began.
The deal valued the company at about $170 million — an optimistic valuation, given the company's earnings and revenue. The real estate firms own an 80% stake today. Their takeover sidelined Haji-Ioannou. The company unified behind a revamped strategy.The investors' turnaround stumbled.