Peter Gowers , Travelodge Chief Executive was joined by the Lord Mayor of Manchester , Naeem Ul Hassan and the President of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Phil Cusack, to officially open a new flagship Travelodge hotel, which is located in the heart of Manchester ’s Piccadilly Gardens district.
The new 157-room hotel represents an £11 million investment, bringing the company’s portfolio to 16 hotels in Greater Manchester and 513 in total. The company is creating 31 new jobs with this latest opening.
The hotel is one of 15 new hotels that the brand will open this year, as part of a £100 million programme into extending the chain.
The Manchester Piccadilly Travelodge
The hotel is designed in the new modern Travelodge look and feel, which was designed by customers. Every room features the king size Travelodge Dreamer bed, designed exclusively for Travelodge by royal warrant holders Sleepeezee, and the hotel also has a full service Bar Café, where customers can relax in comfortable surroundings and enjoy a drink from the bar or try out the dinner and breakfast menu.
The hotel is part of a mixed scheme that secures the regeneration of the former Woolworths building, originally constructed in 1927. The development of the hotel has been led by Associated Property Investors (API). Travelodge occupies six floors of the building with the ground floor providing further restaurants and retail units.
Ten refurbishments
In addition to this new flagship hotel, Travelodge is investing a further £2 million into the city with the refurbishment of ten of its existing hotels in its new brand look and feel – so that more customers can experience the new fresh, modern Travelodge in Greater Manchester. Seven properties have already been refurbished across the city at Manchester Arena, Trafford Park , Salford Quays, Upper Brook Street , Bury, Altrincham and Ashton under Lyne. Work will be starting in the coming months at hotels at Ancoats, Sportscity, and Oldham Travelodge.
Travelodge opened its first hotel in Manchester in 1987 and during the last 27 years, the UK ’s first budget hotel brand has invested £75 million into the city with the opening of 16 hotels, creating 315 jobs.
Travelodge continued its investment in the city throughout the economic downturn, investing £43.6 million into five new hotels since 2007, doubling its room stock from 790 in 2007 to 1,498 today.
Manchester for business and tourism
Commenting on the new Travelodge hotel in Piccadilly Gardens , President of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Phil Cusack said: “ Manchester now generates about £1bn a year in revenue from conferences and business events with over 5 million delegates coming into the City. Manchester is also becoming one of the UK’s leading tourism centres with all visitors now staying for an average of more than two nights. We simply cannot maintain upward trends in visitors if we don’t have the right kind of accommodation in the right locations. This type of development, in the heart of the city centre, is making a real contribution to Manchester ’s growth and economic strength.”
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