Entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou and Istithmar Hotels are rolling out a new easyHotel.com concept worldwide.

Istithmar Hotels – the investment company of Dubai World – is investing more than £203m (US$400m, 298m euro) over the next five years to build 38 easyHotel.com properties in 17 countries.

Istithmar will construct and operate those in the Middle East, Levant, North Africa, India and Pakistan.

Joe Sita, chief executive of Istithmar, said: “Last month, we broke ground on the first of our easyHotel.com properties, in Dubai, and we are now accelerating our development plans across the region. India will be an important market for properties, with six hotels currently planned over the next five years.”

Stelios added: “It is clear that India is awash with opportunity and we have big plans for the brand there. It’s great to have the chance to see, on the ground, the scale of the opportunity here. We will expect to confirm timings and sites over the coming months, as we develop our plans.”

Each room will be prefabricated at a single manufacturing site as a self-contained unit, and then constructed into a hotel using a ‘stack, connect and stick’ building concept.

This system will see a 200-bedroom hotel opening within 20 weeks.

Each 15sq m (161sq ft) room will comprise a bed, shower, work cubicle and activity wall featuring a television and internet. Guests will pay around £25 per room per night.

Architects Harper Downie designed the rooms, which will be delivered to each hotel site fully assembled, including all internal elements, sheets and towels.

EasyHotel.com Dubai Al Karama – comprising 195 rooms in a six-storey structure – will be the first to open, in early 2008.