"Hampton by Hilton" hotel will be built next to RIX

Lithuanian asset management company "I Asset Management", supervised by the Bank of Lithuania, has started building an economy class "Hampton by Hilton" airport hotel next to Riga International Airport.

The hotel will have 189 rooms and will be located one kilometre from the airport. It is the first hotel from the international chain to be built near this airport.

"Hampton by Hilton" is scheduled to open in the second quarter of next year. The total value of the project is 13.8 million euros. General contractor - Latvian construction company "UPB".

Laurynas Antropikas, director of "Airport Hotels Fund", an investment fund managed by "I Asset Management", emphasizes that the hotel construction has begun despite all concerns about the decline of passenger numbers due to the current Covid-19 situation.

"This project is a niche investment in the region - there aren't any branded hotels nearby the Riga International Airport, so, currently, there is not much competition. The potential of Riga International Airport is huge - it serves almost half of the Baltic region passengers and aims to become the central airport hub of the Nordic region. As part of the Rail Baltica project, a new railway station will be open at Riga International Airport in 2026. The airport station will serve as the first high-speed rail and air connection centre in the Baltics, and the pandemic does not scare us to start the construction of a new hotel in this neighbourhood because we believe that there will be a high demand, "says Antropikas.

He reminds that, due to the pandemic, some of the competitors who had similar plans to build hotels nearby airports have stopped their plans. 

"We see this situation as an opportunity to overcome the decline in various industries caused by Covid-19 - we will enter the market when the recovery starts," adds Anthropics.

The hotel will be a convenient option for both Riga International Airport passengers who plan early morning flights or have a sudden flight delay and travellers who are looking for a good balance of pricing and quality during a longer stay.

"Hampton by Hilton" is a loyalty program with more than 100 million users and owns properties in 119 countries. "Hilton" is a pioneer in the airport hotel segment - the first airport hotel of this brand was opened in 1959 in San Francisco (USA).

"Hampton by Hilton Riga Airport" will be managed by the independent hotel management company "Apex Alliance Hotel Management".

The general contractor of the project is "UPB", which also designed the building. In December, "UPB" started laying the foundations of the hotel and pile driving. These works are expected to be completed by the 1st quarter of 2021.

Real estate development is provided by the company "VPH".

The construction of the "Hampton by Hilton Riga Airport Hotel" is co-financed by "Bigbank Latvia" with a loan of EUR 6 million. 

"We managed to complete a bank financing agreement in the middle of the current Covid-19 pandemic. Although the current situation in the hotel market seems devastating, the industry has historically proven its resiliency towards demand shocks," adds Antropikas.

Source: delfi.lv