Dubai-based Layia Hospitality is setting up a new budget accommodation brand called Day & Night Hotels, with plans for 15 properties in the Middle East within the next 5-7 years.

Layia chiefs said they are hoping the brand will appeal to “trendy, modern and young at heart budget conscious travellers” and negotiations with several parties in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran have begun.

Layia Hospitality CEO Daniel Hajjar said in comments published by Hotelier Middle East that the regional market was “now mature enough to accept the concept of budget hotels”.

“Thanks to the low cost carriers, the perception of budget airlines and budget hotels is slowly but surely spreading into the minds of the travellers,” Hajjar said.

“It is evolving from a curiosity factor to a serious alternative when deciding on a trip. Day & Nights Hotels will be slick properties where extreme attention to details and cost efficiency at all levels will be the raison d’être of this new brand.”

Mohamed Al Sari, managing director of GGICO, Layia's majority partners, said the most challenging aspect would be to offer a room rate that would not exceed US $100 to $150.

more information: http://www.layia.net