Chain opens new hotels in county
TRAVELODGE BOOST FOR TOWNS
A NEW 63-bed Travelodge hotel at the site of Mansfield’s former Gala Bingo is finally set to open its doors to tourists.
The hotel, at the junction of Albert Street and St Peters’ Way, will open this month after a delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Construction on the site finished months ago, but the most recent lockdown caused hoteliers across the country to shut their doors.
It meant the large new town centre hotel was unable to welcome its first set of customers.
But now the company has revealed it is opening its doors this month, alongside the new 66-bed site in nearby Newark.
The hotels officially opened their doors yesterday, but bookings for families and holidaymakers will be available from May 17.
Damon Oakley is the hotel manager at the new Mansfield town centre Travelodge.
He said: “It’s great to mark coming out of lockdown with the official opening of our second hotel in Mansfield and become Nottinghamshire’s largest branded hotel chain.
“It has been very challenging opening a hotel in a pandemic but I am extremely proud to have built a fantastic team who have worked around the clock to get the hotel open.
“We have a multi-million Covid19 safety programme called Travelodgeprotect+ in place, which is designed to keep our customers and teams safe and has been very well received by our business customers who are currently allowed to stay overnight.”
Speaking on the opening of the Mansfield hotel, Mr Oakley adds that the company saw the need for this type of accommodation in the town centre.
He also praised the links Nottinghamshire has locally to good tourism attractions and its “rich heritage and culture”.
He added: “There is a desperate need for good quality and low-cost accommodation in the town and this hotel is centrally located to service business and leisure customers.
“This hotel opening is also great news for the local economy as research shows our customers will spend on average double their room rate with local businesses which equates to an annual multimillion spend.
“Nottinghamshire is rich in heritage and culture, it is famously known as the home of Sherwood Forest, Pleasley Colliery and Hardwick Hall.
“However this year with more Britons holidaying at home, they will discover that we are also famous for our castles, hidden caves and legendary landscapes.
“[Alongside] the opening of Newark-on Trent Travelodge we will now have a strong network of hotels across the county offering even more choice and great value to holidaymakers.”
Both the Mansfield and Newark hotels will be taking bookings for ‘leisure guests’ from Monday, May 17, when the next phase of the lockdown roadmap kicks in.
Extra Covid-secure safety measures will be in place for the new hotels, including enhanced cleaning regimes, disinfected linen and towels, hand sanitiser stations, PPE, social distancing markers and contactless stations.