NEWS: Travelodge comes to Sittingbourne
Today, Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel chain celebrates 20 years of trading in Kent, by officially opening its first hotel in Sittingbourne.
Sittingbourne Travelodge is the company’s 589th hotel and its 16th property in Kent. The purpose built hotel is located in the heart of the town centre, at Bourne Place leisure quarter (which is part of the ‘Spirit of Sittingbourne’ £326m regeneration programme).
The hotel represents a multimillion investment for Swale Borough Council and has created 15 new jobs within the community.
Sittingbourne Travelodge features 63-rooms which include a selection of family, double and accessible rooms. The rooms have been designed by Travelodge business and leisure customers and the décor features a sleep inducing colour palette, introduced by a chronotherapy expert. The featured walls are painted a tranquil blue, as research shows our body clock is programmed to relate the colour blue to the hours of darkness, so our metabolism slows down making us feel relaxed and sleepy.
The hero in all rooms is the bespoke luxurious king-size Travelodge Dreamer bed which has been especially commissioned by Sleepeezee who hold a Royal Warrant and make beds for Prince Charles. The Travelodge Dreamer Bed boasts a 952 pocket sprung mattress and is designed to follow the body’s natural contour providing the correct amount of support and comfort, ensuring a great night’s sleep. The bed sits within a mood lighting surround with integrated bedside shelves featuring individual charging ports to avoid bedtime arguments about charging devices.
The rooms also include an en-suite bathroom with power shower, a personalised comfort cooling system – so that you can regulate the temperature of your room, a 32 inch Freeview TV, free in-room tea & coffee making facilities and Wifi.
In addition all family rooms include two individual single beds for children.
Rooms at Sittingbourne Travelodge are available from £29 and can booked at www.travelodge.co.uk
Michael Johnstone, Travelodge, District Manager for Kent said:
“We are delighted to celebrate 20 years of trading in Kent by opening our first hotel in Sittingbourne which is the company’s 589th Travelodge. Over the last three decades, Travelodge has become symbolic for being the low cost choice for business and leisure travellers visiting the area and with opening of Sittingbourne Travelodge we now operate 16 hotels across the county.”
“Sittingbourne Travelodge is located in the heart of the town centre by the train station and will certainly be a magnet to attract new visitors to the area. This is great news for the local economy too, as our research shows customers will spend double their room rate during their stay with local businesses which equates to an annual boost of £2 million for the local economy.”
Cllr Roger Truelove, Leader of Swale Borough council, said:
“Having such a recognisable brand as Travelodge opening in Sittingbourne is a real boost for the town. Not only are they creating jobs for local people, but they are helping attract visitors into the town, supporting other local businesses.”
Rob Sloper, spokesperson for the Spirit of Sittingbourne said:
“We are delighted to see the Travelodge in Sittingbourne town centre open to the public. Visitors to the town are now able to stay over in a well-recognised national chain hotel, immediately opposite the train station, with great connectivity in and around the wider area. The new hotel marks the first in a series of openings in the Bourne Place leisure quarter, as our vision of a regenerated, destination town, comes to fruition.”
Sittingbourne Travelodge is being managed by Susan Ezzi who joined the company nine years ago as a receptionist. Suzan is one of thousands of Travelodge employees who have successfully climbed the career ladder from an entry level position into management.
Suzan joined the company in 2011 as a receptionist at Canterbury Chaucer Central Travelodge and within two years she successfully secured a place on the in-house management programme called Aspire. Within 12 months, Suzan graduated into a management position and got her first management role as an Assistant Manager in Maidstone Travelodge in 2014 and moved into a hotel manager position at Canterbury Whitstable Travelodge.
Suzan received over 1,500 applications for the 15 positions she advertised to help create her new team at the Sittingbourne Travelodge hotel. She was so overwhelmed by the high calibre of applications she received that she recruited her strong team in just one week.
Susan Ezzi, Hotel Manager, Sittingbourne Travelodge said:
“I never imagined when I started with Travelodge as a receptionist that one day I would be managing a brand new hotel which is also the town’s first Travelodge. It’s certainly a dream come true.”
“I am very proud to have built a fantastic team who are as passionate as me about delivering great customer service. I am looking forward to developing my team and giving them the same opportunities that I was given so that they can successfully climb the career ladder and become hotel manager of the future. “
“Our new hotel has got off to a flying start and with room rates starting from £29 we are set for a very busy year ahead.”