Hotel property with 246 rooms in central Brussels. The hotel will be the chain’s second in Belgium and is set to open during the first half of 2024. With the hotels now signed, Citybox Hotels will almost double the number of rooms from 1126 to 2096.



-Signing a hotel of this size and in such a good location in Brussels is a big breakthrough for Citybox Hotels. Finding a property like this is something we have been working on for years. We are very proud of signing Citybox Brussels and that it is happening in collaboration with such a large and professional player as Pandox. Now we can’t wait to bring the Citybox concept to yet another European city, states Martin Smith-Sivertsen, Head Chairman of Citybox Hotels. &nbsp;



“It feels very good to start a cooperation with Citybox. It is an expansive and ambitious operator with a distinct and modern concept in the budget segment. The hotel concept suits the hotel property very well and attracts a different type of demand compared to our other hotels in Brussels. The lease is attractive with good minimum levels and proves well how Pandox’s active model for value creation works in practice”, says Liia Nõu, CEO of Pandox.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Opening in 2024</h3>



Citybox Brussels is the first cooperation between Citybox Hotels and Pandox. The hotel will open in the property currently operated by NH Brussels Louise, which Pandox acquired earlier in 2022. NH will continue to operate the hotel until the start of renovations in April 2023. Renovations will cover all parts of the property, including BREEAM certifications. The hotel is set to open in the first half of 2024 under the Citybox brand. The lease runs over 25 years with an option for a further 10 years.&nbsp; &nbsp;



“This is the first time we will open a hotel without the property being a new build or going through a total renovation. Taking over an existing hotel property enables us to grow more quickly. That makes it easier to fulfil our plan to grow from 6 to 60 hotels. With the signed hotels, we are already at 10, and will go from 1126 to 2096 rooms, says Martin Smith-Sivertsen.&nbsp; &nbsp;



-Our goal is to become one of the leading hotel chains within the budget segment in Europe. With the hotels we currently operate and those we have signed in the Nordic and Benelux countries, we are well on our way, states Smith-Sivertsen.&nbsp; &nbsp;



Citybox Brussels will be the chains second hotel in Belgium after the opening of Citybox Antwerp in August 2021.&nbsp; &nbsp;



-We opened Citybox Antwerp in the middle of the pandemic. Despite this, the hotel has delivered great results. We expect to see green numbers in the first full year of operation. So far this year, it has had an occupancy of 72%, which is well above the city average, says Smith-Sivertsen.&nbsp;

Image shows the outside of Citybox Brussels.

Citybox doubles the number of rooms!

Hotel chain Citybox Hotels has signed an agreement with Atrium Ljungberg to open a new hotel with 104 rooms in Katarinahuset, Slussen. The hotel will be Citybox Hotels’ first in Sweden and is set to open in the historical building in 2024.



For a long time, Citybox Hotels has been looking for a potential location for their first Swedish hotel.&nbsp;



– Finally, we have found the perfect location in Stockholm! Katarinahuset is located right by “Gamla stan” and has excellent connections with public transport. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to open a hotel with Atrium Ljungberg in a unique location like Katarinahuset. The signing of Citybox Stockholm will strengthen our position in the Nordic market and bring us one important step towards becoming one of the leading hotel chains in Europe within the budget segment, says Martin Smith-Sivertsen, chairman of Citybox Hotels. &nbsp;



-Stockholm is an exciting city with many great hotel concepts. We are sure there is room for a modern budget hotel like Citybox&nbsp;in Stockholm. Perhaps even several, concludes Martin Smith-Sivertsen. &nbsp;



The hotel is the chain’s ninth signing and will open in 2024, the same time as Citybox Helsinki. &nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">A modern meeting place for business, tourism and culture</h3>



Slussen has been a central place since Stockholm was founded. The area is being developed from a traffic hub into a modern meeting place for business, tourism, and culture. After the rebuild, cars and buses will be moved underground to make way for parks, shopping areas, and walkways. Katarinahuset lies at the heart of Slussen and is now being rebuilt and modernized.&nbsp;



– Citybox Hotels is an exciting modern hotel concept with very high ambitions. Through innovative solutions, they offer guests modern, functional, and reasonably priced hotel rooms in the middle of the city center. The fact that they now choose Katarinahuset for their first hotel in Sweden says a lot about how attractive Slussen is, says Camilla Waxin, Leasing Manager at Atrium Ljungberg.&nbsp;



– Citybox Hotels will be an excellent addition to the mix of modern companies that have chosen to establish themselves here, concludes Camilla Waxin. &nbsp;



After the reconstruction of the Katarinahuset, the building will receive the environmental classification BREEM Excellent. That is one of the highest awards for building sustainability. When the hotel opens, it will also apply for Green Key certification in line with the hotel chain’s work for more sustainable hotel operations. Green Key is the leading environmental certification within hotels and tourism. &nbsp;



The lease for Citybox Stockholm is a “green lease” – an agreement between landlord and tenant on joint measures to maintain and improve the premises’ environmental footprint.&nbsp;

New hotel in Stockholm

Despite hard times, Citybox continues the chains planned expansions and signs an agreement with Eiendomsspar for 346 rooms in central Tromsø. When opened, the hotel will be the largest in Northern Norway.&nbsp;



– We are confident that Citybox and the exciting city of Tromsø will be a good match, where we can offer affordable hotel rooms to the market without compromising on quality, says chairman of Citybox, Martin Smith-Sivertsen.



The planned hotel will be part of a larger development of the former Mack-property. It will consist a market street with restaurants, offices, a school, and a possible Arctic concert hall. The plan proposal will soon be up for consideration in the municipality.



Citybox has, for a long time, wanted to establish a hotel in Tromsø. With a modern concept and a low price level, they, together with Eiendomsspar, want to make Tromsø more accessible for travelers looking for affordable accommodation.



– As a developer, we think long-term, and we are not going to let a pandemic shake our assessment of Tromsø as a tourist destination of the future. Tourism will be an even more important industry for the city once the world can reopen. We are glad to have partnered up with Citybox who runs a modern and future-oriented concept. Soon, the city’s tourism industry can offer guests good quality accommodation at a lower price. This will make it possible for many people to experience Tromsø, says Deputy CEO of Eiendomsspar Sigurd Stray.



At Citybox you won’t find an old-fashioned reception or minibar. Guests check-in and out via terminals, and in this way, they save both time and money while traveling.



-Our concept is all about keeping prices low by offering new, simple, and modern rooms. Modern frequent travelers don’t want to pay for decorative pillows or in-room minibars. We focus on what our guests value the most. A new and modern hotel room with Scandinavian design, a good bed, speedy self-service check-in, and most important of all: value for money, says CEO OF Citybox, Eivind Hjulstad.&nbsp;



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2020 was challenging for the hospitality industry. With substantial travel restrictions still in place, Citybox is not expecting the start of this year to be easy. Still, they are going forward with the chain’s planned expansion.



– Corona has been difficult for everyone in the tourism industry. Now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We strongly believe that the tourism industry, especially in Tromsø, will make a strong recovery after the pandemic, says Hjulstad.

Citybox and Eiendomsspar have signed an agreement for a new hotel with 346 rooms in Tromsø.

Norwegian hotel chain Citybox is opening a new hotel in Antwerp. Due to Corona and travel restrictions, the entire hotel has been designed digitally via Teams.



Together with contracting party IRET Development, Citybox is opening a brand new hotel with 180 rooms in the center of Antwerp. From negotiating the agreement to planning the hotel, the entire process has been done via Teams. The parties involved have not physically met yet. The hotel will open at the end of summer 2021.&nbsp;



2020 was a rough year for the hotel industry, with Citybox as no exception. Despite hard times, Citybox is continuing the planned European expansion and opening a new hotel in Antwerp. Offering modern hotel rooms with Scandinavian design and self-service check-in, all at a low price. As a concept, Citybox is all about simple and modern solutions. The traditional reception has been replaced with check-in terminals with encouragement to discover what the city has to offer. As Citybox states, “The city is filled with bars; why would you need one in your room?”.&nbsp;



–For a long time, we have wanted to establish a hotel in Benelux, and we are beyond excited to both sign and open this hotel in record time. We strongly believe that Antwerp’s tourism industry will make a quick recovery now that the pandemic moves to an end, says Martin Smith-Sivertsen, Head Chairman at Citybox.



-For the neighborhood the redevelopment of the former Head quarter of social security into a hotel is much welcomed. We are very happy with Citybox as a long-term tenant and trusted operator. We are convinced of their added value to the hospitality offer in Antwerp and wish them good luck once travel bounces back and brings tourists and businessmen/womenback to Antwerp, states Carl-Philip de Villegas, CEO of IRET Development.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Opening a hotel in a pandemic</h3>



Citybox currently operates four hotels and has already signed five new hotels to open in upcoming years. But this time, the opening comes with an exciting twist. Because of the coronavirus, the whole process from negotiation to planning has been done digitally via Teams and Facetime.&nbsp;



-When IRET presented the project, both the location and the size of the building were perfect for Citybox. In normal times we would travel down to see the building and to discuss the possibilities within the projects. With this project we probably wouldn’t see the hotel physically until close to the opening. However, we all agreed that we had to make it work. The solution was Teams and video calls. We have weekly Teams-meetings with everyone involved plus additional meetings for different disciplines. We’ve also had numerous video viewings of the property where the project managers from Iret functioned as our eyes and ears, says Eivind Hjulstad, CEO of Citybox.&nbsp;



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–Despite the circumstances, it has been a good and thorough process. IRET is a professional partner that we have great confidence in. Without a developer with their level of experience, we wouldn’t have entered into this agreement. We’ve joked about the project going down in history books. Based on both the short period from signing to opening and how unique the process has been, Hjulstad states.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Hotel opening in record time</h3>



The agreement was signed in February 2021, and the hotel will open in this summer. That gave Citybox five months to design a hotel before it opened its doors.



-It’s been a crazy couple of months. Just imagine decorating a lobby and 180 rooms without the possibility of seeing the property. It’s almost like decorating your own home, just relying on the floor plans before you even get access to the house. In just a few months we negotiated a deal, planned, and built a hotel. All that without even physically meeting each other or seeing the property. I’m sure that we will look back at this in a couple of years and think it was completely insane. We often say that we like to do things differently at Citybox; this project proves it, says Hjulstad.&nbsp;



Citybox is a Norwegian-based hotel chain established in 2006, currently consisting of four hotels located in Oslo, Bergen, and Tallinn. The hotels feature contemporary Scandinavian design, focusing on functionality and durability. Small in size thus, big in ambition. Citybox aspires to become one of Europe’s leading high-quality, low-budget hotel chains. With speedy check-in, affordable prices, and modern rooms, Citybox provides guests with simple yet innovative solutions.



For questions, please contact:



Eivind Hjulstad, CEO: <a href="mailto:eivind@citybox.no">eivind@citybox.no</a> / +47 940 01&nbsp;673



Dorthea Berge, Marketing and Communications Manager: <a href="mailto:dorthea@citybox.no">dorthea@citybox.no</a> / +47 916 37 003

Picture of the outside of Citybox Antwerp

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