Travelodge to open 17 sites this year

Travelodge has revealed plans to open 17 new sites across the UK this year, with an expansion programme that represents an approximate investment of £175m from third party investors. The openings are also set to create 360 new jobs across the UK and will boost the group’s portfolio to 597 hotels. The announcement comes as the group has officially opened its second hotel this year in Poole, also marking the company’s seventh site in Dorset. Poole North Travelodge is located within Fleets Corner Business Park, which is owned by the international business of Federated Hermes, an investment manager. The hotel represents a multimillion investment and has created 21 new jobs within the community. The purpose-built 81 room hotel features an on-site restaurant called the Bar-Café and on-site car-parking. The hotel has also been styled in the company’s contemporary brand design, which has been created by business and leisure customers. It offers family, double and accessible rooms from £29. All rooms feature the bespoke king-size Travelodge Dreamer bed which is produced by Sleepeezee, and all family rooms will include two individual beds for children. The rooms also feature a modern en-suite bathroom, power shower, comfort cooling, to enable guests to personalise the temperature of your room, a 32 inch Freeview TV, complementary in-room tea and coffee making facilities and access to Wifi. Poole North Travelodge is being managed by Carlos Barata, who joined the company six years ago and has worked across a number of Travelodge hotels in the South district including: Bournemouth, Southampton and the first Poole Travelodge hotel. Barata said: “I am honoured that my hotel is one of the 17 hotels Travelodge is opening this year and it’s great to mark coming out of lockdown with the official opening of our second hotel in Poole today. It has been very challenging opening a hotel in a pandemic but I am extremely proud to have built a fantastic team. “I was looking for individuals who are passionate about delivering great customer service and I am delighted that I have a great team of local people in place. I received a record of number of applications and I was overwhelmed by the high calibre of applications received. My team and I have worked around the clock to get our hotel open ahead of lockdown restrictions easing for leisure customers from 17 May 2021.” She added: “Poole and the Dorset region is one of the UK’s top holiday destinations and annually attracts millions of visitors, and with more Britons holidaying at home this year we are set for a very busy 2021. Our hotel will be a magnet to attract more visitors to the area which is great news for the local economy. “Our new hotel has got off to a good start and we are presently providing accommodation for workers who are currently allowed to travel and stay over. We have a multi-million Covid-19 safety programme called TravelodgeProtect+ in place, which is designed to keep our customers and teams safe and has been very well received by our business customers.”