Like many of you, all of us at Premier Inn have been deeply moved by the ongoing international events. We have already pledged £500,000 for the Disasters Emergency Committee and donated 50,000 duvets and pillow sets. Now – inspired by an idea from our Supply Chain Manager and with the help of aid charities and suppliers – we’re offering our support once again.
We partnered with Hope and Aid Direct – an incredible humanitarian aid charity – to donate and deliver around 2000 mattresses to support people impacted by the war in Ukraine as part of our longstanding Force for Good promise.
Empowered by the business, this project was the brainchild of our Supply Chain Manager Nathan Philip, who identified an opportunity to align our bed replacement scheme – believed to be the biggest of its kind in UK history – with aiding people who need help and being a Force for Good.
Nathan commented:
“When Ukraine was invaded, we were going through our bedding replacement programme, upgrading tens of thousands of duvets and pillows – as well as all of the mattresses across our hotels.”
“While the mattresses were at the end of their commercial life, they weren’t at the end of their useful life, so we identified an opportunity to donate them to people displaced by the war”.
As part of the project, many of our suppliers were tasked with donating, storing and delivering the items to shelters in Ukraine. We are incredibly grateful for their support.
To ensure the mattresses were delivered successfully, we worked closely with Hope and Aid Direct as well as Ukraine-based charitable partner Ukraine on Palms to overcome the many logistical challenges associated with donating large items like beds to a war zone.
Charles Storer, Head of Operations at Hope & Aid, said: “Hope and Aid is a bridge between corporates and charities – we take aid, not sides. But when it comes to giving aid, many companies don’t know where to start as humanitarian aid logistics aren’t as simple as they seem. Most of our relationships with businesses are through third party organisations, but we have a unique relationship with Premier Inn in that we work directly with them to form a plan of action to quickly get those things where they need to be. We started out with the duvets and pillow sets, and now the mattresses are a very welcome continuation of our partnership, which will help people in unimaginable circumstances get a better night’s sleep. I implore other companies to follow Whitbread’s lead.”
The first convoy of Hope and Aid trucks filled with mattresses – led by Charles and supported by a team of volunteers – left for Ukraine during summer, with stops made along the way to pick up more items at Premier Inn hotels in Germany. Deliveries will continue throughout 2024.
Dominic Paul, CEO of Whitbread, said: “Our donation of mattresses to Ukraine is a fantastic example of Force for Good in action – as well as the power of partnerships. One of our team had a brilliant idea, so we offered the tools and resources to make it happen”.
He added: “Sleep is a fundamental human right and we’re pleased to do our bit in a small way to make lives easier for those in unimaginable circumstances. We’re extremely thankful to all our suppliers who have helped make this goal a reality”.
Our longstanding Force for Good strategy is geared round a simple ethos – we strive to be a Force for Good in everything we do, and we care about the communities we operate in and the world around us. From ambitious Net Zero targets to donating surplus food to communities in need, we’re proud to be setting industry-leading goals. If you’ve been inspired by the Premier Inn bed convoy and would like to help the people of Ukraine, Hope and Aid Direct have donation points across the UK – find out more here.
