With the Support of Bigbank Latvia, Construction of a Hotel Worth 13.8 Million Euros is Underway near Riga International Airport
Forbes
Baltic edition
Resulting from cooperation between Lithuanian asset management company I Asset Management and Bigbank Latvia, a hotel with 189 guest rooms worth 13.8 million euros is being constructed near Riga International Airport. The economy class hotel Hampton by Hilton will be the first global chain hotel in direct vicinity of Riga Airport, and it is expected to open its doors already in the 2nd quarter of 2022. The construction works have been entrusted to Latvian company UBP.
The three-star hotel will be located approximately a kilometre away from the airport exit and will thus be easily accessible to transit passengers and late guests. It will be a few minutes’ walk away, saving potential guests the transport fare. It is planned that the hotel will have a spacious 120 square metre business centre, a restaurant, a gym, and 90 parking spaces. The construction works were already started in December 2020 and are going to be completed at the beginning of next year. The opening of the hotel is planned in April 2022.
“Every major airport should have a hotel nearby where transit passengers can spend the night between their flights or have a rest if their flight is cancelled or delayed. We are glad to be able to take part in the improvement of the surroundings of Riga International Airport, helping to build a global chain hotel. I believe the hotel will be appreciated by both visitors and locals of Riga because high quality accommodation near the airport will promote the flow of tourists and contribute to the economy. We are also delighted to begin cooperation with our new partner I Asset Management and hope to implement other important projects together in the future,” says Bigbank Latvia Corporate Loan Department manager Mareks Grodskis.
Bigbank Latvia has supported the construction of the Hampton by Hilton hotel, granting a six million euro loan. Development of the project continues despite the destructive impact of the pandemic on tourism and the economy, when many other developers have frozen the development of hotels. Whereas I Asset Management is taking this time as an opportunity to overtake competitors and be ahead when life returns to normal.
“We are building the first international brand hotel near Riga Airport. The project is an investment in the region – there are no known-brand hotels in the vicinity of Riga Airport, which is why competition is small, whereas the potential is huge. Riga International Airport serves almost half of all the passengers in the Baltic region, and is planning to become an important junction in the entire Northern region. Moreover, a new railway station will be opened here in 2026 within the Rail Baltica project, thus creating the first high-speed railway and air transport junction in the Baltics. These considerations and the demand for a hotel in the area are so strong that not even the pandemic stopped us from starting construction works,” explains I Asset Management representative, Airport Hotels Fund investment director Laurynas Antropikas.
Hampton by Hilton is one of the best-known hotel brands. The hotel is operating under this name in 119 countries all over the world, and more than 100 million people have registered with its loyalty programme. The first hotel of this brand was opened in 1959 in San Francisco.
AS Bigbank is an Estonian bank specialising in consumption credit and corporate loans, as well as in providing profitable term deposit services. The company expanded its activities outside Estonia, establishing branches in Finland, Sweden, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as offering cross-border services in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. The company is led by Martins Lants, a Board Member of the Group. Svens Raba, Marts Veskimagi and Argo Kiltsmans are also Members of the Board.