Travelodge opens flagship premium budget hotel in heart of Portsmouth - creating 35 jobs

Travelodge opened its Travelodge Plus hotel today, part of its premium budget hotel format, in Stanhope Road, near Portsmouth & Southsea Station.

The venue is the third Travelodge hotel in Portsmouth, as it has others in Hilsea and North End, and it is the brand’s 20th hotel in the county.

The opening, which had been set back by lockdowns and the coronavirus pandemic, represents a multimillion investment for third party investors and has created 35 new jobs.

Hotel manager Rob Joy said: ‘It’s great to mark coming out of lockdown and to celebrate 35 years of trading in Hampshire by opening our 20th hotel in the county and bring our premium Travelodge Plus hotel format to Portsmouth city centre with the official opening of our new flagship hotel today.

‘I am honoured to be managing Portsmouth City Centre Travelodge Plus, it is the county’s first Travelodge Plus hotel.’

Rob joined the company 10 years ago as hotel manager for Southampton Travelodge and has held management positions across five hotels including Southampton and Southampton Central, Gatwick Central Airport, Bristol Central and Bournemouth Central.

His new venue has 152 bedrooms, including the company’s premium economy SuperRooms and a restaurant called the Bar Café.

SuperRooms are Travelodge’s premium economy room concept, that give additional features such as a capsule coffee machine, larger desk area, king-size bed, large TV, plus more.

The other rooms feature family, double and accessible rooms from £29.

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The hotel also features the company’s multimillion pound Covid-19 safety and social distance programme, called TravelodgeProtect+.

Rob added: ‘My team and I are gearing up for a busy summer as the staycation is set to be big this year and Portsmouth and Hampshire are favourite holiday destinations. This 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 multimillion 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.

‘The Travelodge Hampshire team are working around the clock to get all of our 20 hotels ready to welcome back our leisure customers from May 17.’

Travelodge also announced plans for a further 17 new hotels across the UK this year, representing a £175m investment for third party investors, creating 360 new jobs and bringing the group’s portfolio to 597 hotels.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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