Today, leading UK budget hotel chain Travelodge opened the doors to its first hotel in Northampton town centre creating 10 jobs. The former 57-bed Grand Hotel has undergone a £2.3m refurbishment programme, providing each room with the latest in interior design. In addition, the former kitchens and meeting rooms have been converted into eight extra bedrooms, increasing the hotel's capacity to 65 beds.
Northampton is an ideal location for Travelodge due to its strong business and leisure markets with large corporations in the town such as Barclays Bank, Panasonic UK and Coca Cola. The hotel will be an ideal base for visiting motorsport fans who flock to Northamptonshire for the British Grand Prix, and with Silverstone's recent deal to stage the Formula One race until 2017, the hotel will be in high demand for years to come.
Travelodge also recently acquired two Innkeeper's Lodges in Northampton as part of a national acquisition of 52 hotels from the pub and restaurant operator Mitchells & Butlers. The hotels acquired are the 31- room Innkeeper's Lodge at Northampton East, located on Talavera Way, Round Spinney, and the 51- room Innkeeper's Lodge located on London Road, Wooton. These recent acquisitions mean that Travelodge has quadrupled its hotel stock in Northampton this year, as the company now operates four hotels in the town.
Travelodge's District Manager for Northamptonshire, James Collins, said: "We fought off some tough competition to secure this new hotel and are delighted to be opening our first hotel in the town centre in such a fantastic central location. We want to give travellers every reason to visit Northampton and stay longer - we see increasing the availability of low cost accommodation in the area as central to achieving this objective."
Councillor Richard Church, Northampton Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration, welcomed the opening by saying: "The Grand Hotel is a beautiful old building that has stood empty for too long. I am glad to see that Travelodge has recognised the potential of the building with a prime location in the heart of the town centre. This will see millions invested in our town centre as well as the creation of new jobs. It can only be good for Gold Street and good for Northampton."
Chris Duffy of Galliard, a subsidiary of Viewnote Ltd which owns The Grand Hotel, said: "We are delighted to have secured a long-term use for the hotel and to be able to restore the building to its former glory with Travelodge. The refurbishment of the property represents a significant investment in Gold Street and demonstrates our shared confidence in the town."
Peter Mawson, Chief Executive of West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) commented: "WNDC provided over £6m to help create safer, attractive and more pedestrian friendly streets from Black Lion Hill through Marefair and Gold Street. It has made this part of Northampton town centre much more attractive to private sector investors and it is a welcome vote of confidence in both the quality of the new public realm and the future of the town."
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Notes to editors:
Photocall details:
A photocall will take place at the hotel at 10.00am on Friday 30 July 2010 to celebrate the hotel opening. If you would like to attend please contact Sharday Wells.
Sharday Wells
PR Executive
M: 44 078 2783 1812
Sharday.wells@travelodge.co.uk
About Travelodge:
The first budget hotel brand to launch in the UK in 1985, Travelodge now operates over 450 hotels over (30,500 rooms) - eight in Ireland, three in Spain and the rest in the UK. Travelodge plans to grow its estate to 70,000 rooms approximately 1,000 hotels by 2020.
Six and a half million people stayed with Travelodge last year and 87% of reservations are currently made online at travelodge.co.uk where room prices start from £19 per room, per night. The chain employs 6,000 staff and is owned by Dubai International Capital.