Travelodge Opens Its First Budget Luxe Hotel in Hexham in Northern England

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, David Kennedy to officially open Travelodge’s  first new-build budget luxe hotel in the north of England - in Hexham.

Hexham Travelodge is the second hotel the group has opened in the North East region 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.  

At the Hexham Travelodge official opening ceremony, the hotel chain  announced that the North East remains a key growth area and they are actively looking for a further 16 hotel sites across the region.  This expansion programme could represent an investment of around £160 million for third party investors and create 400 new jobs.

To help kick-start this expansion programme, Travelodge today also announces it has agreed contracts with Muse Developments & Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to develop a 69-room hotel which will be Rotherham’s first Travelodge hotel. This development is part of a mixed-use regeneration programme which includes a cinema, food & beverage outlets and a new public square.

The 16 North East target sites, where Travelodge is actively looking to open a hotel include nine growing towns which currently don’t have a Travelodge hotel. These locations include: Beverley, Bridlington, Headingley, Grimsby/Cleethorpes, Knaresborough/Wetherby, Northallerton, Ripon, South Shields and Thirsk.

The group is also looking to expand its portfolio in the following established North East markets which includes:  

● Finding a suitable site to open a second Travelodge hotel in Barnsley, Chesterfield, Durham and Middlesbrough

● Finding a suitable site to add a third Travelodge hotel site in Wakefield.

● Finding a suitable site to add a fourth hotel in Sheffield

● Finding a suitable site to add a fifth hotel in Leeds

Hexham Travelodge, a 69 room hotel is the town’s first branded hotel, it is the group’s 597^th Travelodge and its 23^rd 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. The hotel is being managed by Jonathan Dunn who brings a wealth of twenty years of experience of working within the hospitality sector. Rooms are available from £32.

Earlier this year, Travelodge announced it is evolving its core brand product to a new budget-luxe premium look and feel design - whilst maintaining its great value price proposition.   This new design has been created on the success of the group’s budget chic hotel format, TravelodgePLUS with feedback from the company’s largest consumer study - which surveyed around 5,000 UK business and leisure travellers to find the psychographics of the modern budget traveller. Key findings revealed that modern travellers crave style, choice and little homely touches to make it easier to work, rest and relax both inside and outside of the room.

The new budget-luxe design includes all the low cost efficiencies you would expect from Travelodge but with the added benefit of thoughtful, stylish design and homely touches throughout its interiors.

This is underpinned by the introduction of a new signature rich navy blue brand colour which pays homage to the first iconic Travelodge blue brand colour- chosen for its calming and uplifting qualities. In essence all the key essentials that matter to modern business and leisure travellers.

The new Travelodge budget-luxe design includes a timeless classic, elegant style reception which is the hub of the hotel. A next generation room which has been smartly devised to create a multi-dimensional space by utilising the new luxurious signature Travelodge navy blue colour for the R&R (resting and relaxing) section of the room and a serene colour palette for the functional and energising side of the room to work and get ready. Plus a contemporary designed restaurant called the Bar Café - that features spaces for guests to work, relax and socialise. 

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.

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 new-build budget-luxe hotel in the north of England, and I was joined by my parents and the Mayor of Hexham, David Kennedy to officially open the hotel.

Hexham Travelodge is our 597^th 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.”

“As we look to the future, the North East business and leisure economies are growing at pace especially as the region is a top staycation destination. However, as we have become a nation of value conscious travellers, with more of us choosing to stay in budget hotels than any other hotel type, there is a shortage of good quality and low cost accommodation within the region. To help fill this gap and fulfil growing demand, we are today announcing our North East hotel target expansion programme and are actively looking for hotel sites in 16 target locations. This collective expansion programme could represent an investment of £160 million for third party investors and create 400 new jobs.

For nine of these target locations it would be the town’s first Travelodge hotel which would help attract new business and leisure visitors to the area. These locations include: Beverley, Bridlington, Headingley, Grimsby/Cleethorpes, Knaresborough/Wetherby, Northallerton, Ripon, South Shields and Thirsk.”