London Hotels Insight provides up-to-date, independent advice for your perfect stay in London. We research guest feedback, meet management and identify hotels at the top of their game.
Tune Hotels launches £35 (and 1p!) rooms.
The new budget Tune Hotel Westminster is due to open on 30 August 2010 and is within walking distance of Lambeth North tube station
To call the competition at the budget end of the London hotel market “vigorous” would be something of an understatement.
You’ve got established budget chains like Travelodge and Premier Inn growing at breakneck speed, offering cheap promotions and decent locations aplenty – though often housed in fascinatingly “ugly” buildings.
Then there are well-priced, good-quality independent hotels like Luna and Simone with its free WiFi and friendly service; as well as innovative mid-price hotels like YOTEL and Dean Street Townhouse.
Check the best rate for Luna & Simone Hotel from 30+ hotel booking sites
Luna & Simone is a cheap, independent London hotel competing with Tune Hotels
In fact, Dean Street Townhouse could teach newcomer Tune Hotels a thing or two by its understated marketing strategy – just the opposite of Tune Hotels’ not very credible promise of “5 star beds at 1 star prices”.
Check best rate for Dean Street Townhouse from 30+ hotel booking sites
Let’s also recall some excellent London bed and breakfast guest houses and quirky military-style lodging in central London at attractive rates. Even Stelios of Easyjet fame has joined the party with his easyHotel chain.
That’s before even getting to the “luxury budget” innovators like Base2stay which have already featured extensively on London Hotels Insight.
Base2stay offers "stripped down" luxury rather than "budget plus" as traditional cheap hotels do
Check the best rate for Base2stay from 30+ hotel booking sites
So with all these alternatives, who needs another budget hotel chain with plans for London domination?
The answer is: we all do! That’s the only way we’ll keep the bottom of the market honest and ensure that fierce competition keeps pricing reasonable.
And the latest entrant is Malaysia-based Tune Hotels – an ambitious company also running a no-frills airline (AirAsia). In this sense their thinking mirrors YOTEL with design, pricing and service cues from the airline sector.
Tune Hotels however aspires to be even cheaper than YOTEL, specialising in the basics (bed, shower and safety) and nothing more.
In fact, they often charge on a pay-as-you-go basis for many free hotel amenities that you’d often take for granted. We’re not holding our breath for free WiFi (but then budget chains like Travelodge fail on this too).
But the company does keep rates as low as £10 a night in Asia.
To celebrate the opening of their first London hotel in Westminster in late August they’re even offering a limited number of rooms for just a penny a night! This even undercuts Hoxton Hotel’s famous £1 promotion.
This so-called “Tunedays” promotion has restrictions but they claim you can genuinely get a room for 1p! The first opportunity is at 12.01 am on Tuesday 13th July and you must book on the Tune Hotels website.
Artist's impression of a room at the Tune Hotel Westminster - basic but effective
A more realistic price scenario being touted by the hotel is around £35 per night (still very attractive) with the promise of limited batches at even cheaper rates during promotions. Pricing is likely to follow the no-frills airline model that we are now all so familiar with.
Our road-testing showed a fair number of £35 rooms available – but like Ryanair they may charge for “extras” you’d normally take for granted (e.g. room cleaning, towels and toiletries). Note that you do get a clean room on arrival and every third day but pay extra for daily housekeeping.
Nevertheless, I admire the aggressive pricing philosophy and transparency. Tune Hotels are looking to roll out 100 hotels by 2015 (including at least 15 in London) and they have every chance of succeeding.
It will be interesting to see how Travelodge and Premier Inn respond to the challenge. Things are looking good for cheap London hotel hunters.
You may enjoy this later article on early reports for Tune Hotel London.
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Photo credits: Tune Hotel Westminster, Luna & Simone Hotel, Base2stay.
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I had quick look on site for room during World Travel Market, £115 upwards for room with no window, everything extra even towel, watching TV!
Wow Karen, that definitely doesn’t sound like a fair deal! I guess we have to accept the flip-side of low-cost airlines’ model is that they can also set very steep prices when they know demand is high. Charging for extras is classic Ryanair and I don’t mind this too much as long as they’re upfront about it.
Karen. I think you may have misread the booking page. The £115 would have been the total cost for 3 nights. I’ve just booked 3 nights (8-11 Nov) for the World Travel Market for £120 which I think is great value at just £40 per night. If you book quickly I’m sure you’ll be able to get the same deal.
I checked out this hotel yesterday, and was quite impressed. Clean, safe and, it has to be said, small. The rooms are places to sleep and shower, nothing more. They are fine for one person, I think, but a couple with luggage would probably find them a bit cramped. All the more reason to get out of the hotel and get on with the sightseeing, I guess. The hotel is certainly well placed for that.