EasyHotel opens in Luton

THE ENTREPRENEUR who has had it Easy is to open an hotel a stone's throw away from an INQUIRER outpost in Luton.

"Luton," said Sir Stelios, "has been described as the 'spiritual home' of the easy brand so I'm glad to be back offering consumers more value for less."

What he's offering, it seems, are rooms that are "slightly smaller than a traditional hotel" at what he thinks will be the "best possible price."

The hotel, currently called the St Lawrence, sits between the bus station and the shopping "mall" in central Luton. Previously it was called the Shannon but whatever its name it's never been overly successful.

That may be because since the Arndale shopping centre was built over the old centre of the town, about thirty years ago, the place has had no heart. Folk tipping up in Luton are generally on their way out, but Stelios' new hotel is three miles from the airport, though it is situated close the railway line, whence the airport is one stop away.

The trip by train to the airport currently takes the traveller past a big hole in the ground where once there stood Vauxhall Motors. Vauxhall spent nigh-on 100 years in the town and at its height employed around 35,000 people in the area. One period of guaranteed success for the General Motors firm was during the second world war, when tanks from GM Vauxhall in Luton were engaged in blowing up tanks made by GM Opel in Germany and vice versa. Now if that's not the perfect business model, what is?

Quite what Stelios thinks he's given back to the town of Luton escapes us. According to his profile on Easy.com, which is, unfortunately, the basis for Wikipedia's entry about him, Stelios "gives back" and has donated money to the London School of Economics, the City of London Cass Business School and Greek children's charities. Thanks Stelios.

In the complete twaddle tacked on to the end of the press release announcing this auspicous event Stelios' minions note "no use should be made of the name "easy" (or anything similar to it) without our consent."

Yeah, right. µ