YOTEL Makes Its Big Apple Debut

LONDON, April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- YOTEL will launch its brand in the United States in June 2011, with the opening of YOTEL New York located on West 42nd Street and 10th Avenue at Times Square West. Featuring 669 stylish cabins, this will be the brand's first opening outside of its current international airport locations and the largest hotel opening in New York in 2011.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110407/NY78846 )

Check in – Guests check in at airline style kiosks.

Yobot – The world's first luggage robot is a radical approach to storing left luggage; it's fun, it's efficient and it is only the beginning of baggage management.

YOTEL's Premium Cabins come with:

• Motorised moving beds for saving space
• Monsoon shower  
• Technowall with TV, music and power services
• Workstation
• Free super strength WiFi
• Complimentary breakfast

In fact, everything you might find in a luxury hotel in under 200 sqft.

Eighteen First Class Cabins and 3 VIP 2 Cabin Suites, come with private outdoor terraces and hot tubs.

YOTEL New York will also feature 18,000 square feet of flexible work and entertainment space:

• Dohyo restaurant, Japanese word for the Sumo wrestling platform and descriptive of YOTEL's original table sharing concept. Tables lower and raise for Japanese style seating and a performance entertainment area out of dining hours;
• Club Lounge with individual Club Cabins for meetings and private parties, bar and a DJ booth;
• Studiyo for meetings, yoga, cinema, events and parties;
• The Terrace, New York's largest outdoor hotel space features two bars, pagodas, fire, and blankets for autumn evenings

You can book now on yotel.com for stays from 15 June, rates are from $149. Friends of YOTEL signing up to facebook.com/YOTELHQ and following them on twitter @YOTELHQ can look forward to some VERY special offers. A 3D walkthrough of the hotel is available at youtube.com/yotel.

YOTEL, designed in collaboration by Rockwell Group and Softroom, was originally conceived by founder of YO! Simon Woodroffe OBE and realised by YOTEL CEO Gerard Greene.

Simon Woodroffe, entrepreneur, creator of the restaurant phenomenon YO! Sushi and 'dragon' from the UK BBC's popular series 'The Dragons Den' said, "I was lucky enough to be upgraded to First class on British Airways. I went to sleep with the conundrum of how to create a flexible and convenient hotel experience at an affordable price. The YOTEL brand is launching its first city centre hotel, I expect YOTEL to be in the world's top ten hotel brands in the next ten years. YOTEL totally fulfills the holy grail of retailing, a top end product at a below expectation cost."

"A solution to expensive and boring hotels, I wanted YOTEL to use innovative radical design to create a mixture of luxury, fun, comfort and excitement at an affordable price, turning the hotel industry on its head," said Gerard Greene CEO YOTEL.

IFA Hotel Investments, a subsidiary of international resort and residential developer IFA Hotels & Resorts, oversees the investment in the YOTEL brand. "We're very excited about the opening of YOTEL in New York," said Joe Sita, President of IFA Hotel Investments. "YOTEL is different from other investments we have in the hotel sector and we truly believe it represents the future of the hotel industry. It is a brand that is sure to grow exponentially over the next few years."

About YOTEL

YOTEL was created by YO! founder Simon Woodroffe and YOTEL CEO Gerard Greene. The idea was conceived by Simon after he was upgraded to first class on a flight. He decided to translate the language of luxury airline travel and Japanese capsule hotels into a small but luxurious cabin. YOTEL launched as a revolutionary hotel concept in the summer of 2007, with its first location inside London's Gatwick South terminal.  In December 2007, the brand opened its second airport location inside London's Heathrow Airport Terminal 4, followed by its third location in the airside transit area at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam in September of 2008. Supported by IFA Hotels and Resorts, YOTEL's CEO, Gerard Greene, leads an experienced executive team bringing together expertise from the hotel, travel and leisure industries across the private and public sectors. www.yotel.com

SOURCE YOTEL