The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, officially opened Travelodge's 400th hotel at Waterloo and also joined in the party to celebrate the hotel chain's 25th anniversary.
London Waterloo Travelodge is a 279-room hotel; the building which is part grade II listed and a new build has cost £21.1million to covert into a Travelodge hotel. It was previously a bank and a Government office. The new hotel opening has created 60 new jobs, with half of the positions being filled via the London Employer Accord programme which helps the long term unemployed back into work.
The hotel has got off to a flying start by being full every night for the first month. With room rates from £19 - it's proving to be a popular choice for business and leisure visitors to the Capital.
In a UK first to celebrate the opening of London Waterloo Travelodge, the hotel company is offering an exclusive complementary 'Triplet London sightseeing tour' -
with tour guide to its customers. This service allows two customers and the tour guide to cycle around London visiting the Capitals famous landmarks.
In addition to this service Travelodge is also trialling a free cycle service where customers can hire a 'Go Cycle' - which is the worlds lightest electric bike. The 'Go Cycle' is electrically powered via a mains power point and offers on demand power with a noemission and low cost commute around London.
To help customers seek out Londons famous landmarks, Travelodge has created a sight-seeing guide - which details a cycle route, where you can see the Capitals top ten popular landmarks in an hour.
With the opening of its London Waterloo hotel, Travelodge now has 34 hotels in Greater London, providing over 5,200 bedrooms. By the time of the Olympics, Travelodge expects to have opened a further 18 hotels in the capital, giving it over 7,000 rooms and making it the biggest hotel brand in London.
At all of its 18 new London openings, Travelodge will continue to recruit its entry level staff in partnership with the London Employer Accord. Since 2008 Travelodge has employed over 90% of its hotel staff for its new hotel openings in the Capital through this programme.
Guy Parsons, Chief Executive of Travelodge, said: "London Waterloo is the perfect example of the modern and vibrant company Travelodge has evolved into over the last 25 years. Located in a prominent location it offers the perfect lowcost base for both leisure and business customers."
"With the Olympics getting ever nearer and given the prominent role tourism plays in the growth of the London economy, we have also invested heavily to ensure that Travelodge is the biggest hotel brand in the Capital in time for the 2012 games."
"With 52 hotels set to be open across the Capital in time for the games, we will be able to ensure that visitors to London are able to stay in high quality, low cost accommodation, whatever their budget."
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: "Tourism is a vital industry in the Capital, supporting more than 250,000 jobs. I am delighted that Travelodge has chosen to open its 400th hotel in London, showing its confidence in the Capitals exceptional cultural, business and tourism offering."
"The 2012 Games will provide brilliant opportunities for London businesses, bringing additional tourists, officials and athletes to our city. Affordable hotel rooms will be at a premium and Travelodge will have a key role to play in the Capitals welcome and experience for our many visitors. That is why I am equally delighted to hear that Travelodge aims to be the biggest hotel provider by the 2012 Olympics."
In addition to celebrating the opening of Travelodges 400th hotel, the London Waterloo Travelodge opening also marked the company's 25th anniversary. Travelodge opened its first hotel at BartonunderNeedwood on the A38 in 1985.Over the subsequent 25 years the business has grown from its roadside beginnings into being the most highly recognised hotel brand in the UK. It is the biggest hotel brand in both London and Edinburgh and has the most visited website in the hotel industry.
With an ambitious growth plan involving the addition of an extra 40,000 rooms by 2020, Travelodge is set to continue to be the fastest growing hotel company in the UK for the next 25 years and beyond.
Guy Parsons, Travelodges Chief Executive said: "Moving from being a roadside hotel chain to becoming one of the UKs largest, fastest growing and most highly recognised budget hotel brand is an achievement that everyone involved with Travelodge should be proud of."
"We have pioneered the UK budget hotel sector and facilitated the growth of the tourism industry across the country whilst creating thousands of jobs by offering low cost rooms in good locations. We will not be resting on our laurels our target double our hotel size in the next decade and to have 1000 hotels and 70,000 rooms."
To mark Travelodge's 25th anniversary the hotel company is offering 250,000 rooms for 25 or less at its UK hotels. The offer includes Travelodges latest opening at London Waterloo Travelodge the company's 400th hotel
Rooms are available to book immediately and room stays must take place before 31 October. To book a 25th anniversary rate room just go to www.travelodge.co.uk
As well as the £25 room rate, there are also rooms for £22 and £19