Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel chain is to officially open its second hotel this year in Poole, which is also the company’s seventh property in Dorset.
Poole North Travelodge is one of 17 hotels Travelodge is opening across the UK in 2021. Collectively this expansion programme of 17 hotels represents an approximate investment of £175 million for third party investors. It also creates 360 new jobs across the UK and will boost the group’s portfolio to 597 hotels.
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 for third party investors and has created 21 new jobs within the community.
Carlos Barata, Hotel Manager, Poole North Travelodge, 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. As we offer flexible working hours, we have attracted a lot of parents as they can work around the school run and climb the career ladder whilst raising their family. My team and I have worked around the clock to get our hotel open ahead of lockdown restrictions easing for leisure customers from 17th May 2021.
“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. As research shows our customers will spend on average double their room rate during their stay with local businesses which equates to an annual multi-million spend.
“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.
“In addition to getting ready for a busy summer season, I am also looking forward to developing my team and to help them to climb the career ladder at Travelodge. The majority of my team are parents and at Travelodge we are dedicated to supporting working parents, by offering flexible working hours around the school run; so that they can work, climb the career ladder and raise their family.”
