Durham and South Shields have been selected as two key locations in the North East, where Travelodge is actively looking for new hotel sites, it has been revealed.
This announcement was made at Travelodge’s 597th hotel opening in Hexham - which is the group’s first new-build budget-luxe hotel in the north of England.
Travelodge’s North East hotel expansion programme represents an investment of £160 million for third party investors and could create hundreds of new jobs. The chain already has a hotel in Durham on Station Lane.
The North East target sites, where Travelodge is actively looking to open a hotel include growing towns that don’t have a Travelodge hotel, also include South Shields, Knaresborough/Wetherby, Northallerton, Ripon and Thirsk.
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In addition to seeking its second hotel site in Durham, the group is also looking to expand its portfolio in the following established markets which include finding a suitable site to open a second Travelodge hotel Middlesbrough.
Born and raised in Newcastle, Claire Good, Travelodge Chief Operating Officer returned home and was joined by her parents David and Sylvia Jones who live in Chapel Park and Hexham’s Mayor, Derek Kennedy to officially open Hexham Travelodge.
This is the second hotel the group has opened in the North East within the last seven months. In December 2021, the hotel chain opened the first budget hotel at Europe’s biggest business park, Newcastle Cobalt Business Park.
Hexham Travelodge, a 69-room hotel is the town’s first branded hotel, it is the group’s 597th Travelodge and its 23rd property in the North East. The hotel represents a multi-million investment for the landlord.
It is located in the town centre, close to the railway station and has created 27 new jobs within the community. Rooms are available from £32 and can be booked at www.travelodge.co.uk.
The Travelodge budget-luxe design also includes a number of sustainable initiatives. This includes the new carpet being made from recycled fishing nets which are part of a project supporting clean ocean initiatives, tackling over 640k tonnes of discarded fishing nets currently impacting marine life.
The carpet backing is also made of old plastic bottles. Every ten of these bottles which are recycled rather than being sent to landfill saves enough energy to power a laptop for 25 hours. The other features include low energy lighting, motion sensing controls and aerated showers and taps.
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Claire Good, Travelodge Chief Operating Officer said: “I am delighted to return home and open my first Travelodge hotel as the group’s Chief Operating Officer.
"This milestone is even more special as Hexham Travelodge is our first north of England budget-luxe hotel, and I was joined by my parents and the Mayor of Hexham, David Kennedy to officially open the hotel.
Hexham Travelodge is our 597th hotel and has got off to a flying start, as it is located at the gateway to Hadrian’s Wall and is a popular choice with holidaymakers. This is great news for the local economy, as research shows Travelodge customers will spend on average double their room rate with local businesses during their stay, which can equate to an annual multi-million boost for the local economy.”
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