THE developers behind the new £5 million easyHotel Belfast have said it is on track to open in less than two weeks, despite a lack of Tourism NI certification.
Signage for the new super budget hotel and FIXX coffee shop on Howard Street has now been erected and a spokesperson for the project, being brought forward by business partners David Crowe and Kevin Baird, said they are still hoping to open this month, with discussions "ongoing" with Tourism NI in relation to certification.
According to the easyHotel website the first bookings are scheduled at the 81-bedroom hotel on Tuesday, August 14.
Last month it was reported that a number of rooms in the new Belfast hotel are below the 13 sq m stipulated size in Northern Ireland legislation and may not receive the required Tourism NI certification. Operating without official approval can be punishable by a fine of up to £2,500 or imprisonment of up to six months.
At the time easyHotel said they had previously “received reassurances” from Tourism NI the project would go ahead and blamed the lack of a Stormont Executive for not updating the current UK legislation in the north.
“Our rooms are fully compliant with the very latest national guidance on room sizes. Procedural delays at the assembly mean that guidance has not yet been updated in Northern Ireland, but in our on-going dialogue with Tourism Northern Ireland throughout the planning process we have received reassurances," they said.
This claim was later refuted however by Tourism NI, who said "at no time" did they gave developers reassurances they would grant certification.
"Tourism NI follows a standard process of referring developers and operators to the legislation as soon as plans are submitted to us and we advise in relation to compliance with the legislation accordingly. At no time were any reassurances given by Tourism NI to the easyHotel developers in relation to certification," a statement read.
When asked yesterday by The Irish News, Tourism NI confirmed it had not yet granted certification for the easyHotel Belfast.
