A HOTEL chain has revealed plans to open its biggest venture in Southampton yet, creating up to 40 new jobs.

Travelodge has announced plans for an even larger hotel in the city at the opening of its latest venue in the city.

The new Southampton WestQuay Travelodge represents a £6m investment and is providing 25 new jobs.

A converted office building, the 94-room facility is its fourth and largest in Southampton so far, located in Castle Way, close to the Port of Southampton and the city centre.

But it was at its official launch that the company announced its wider plans.

Travelodge’s future expansion plans to demand from the growing cruise market include a further Southampton hotel.

It plans to open a further 14 hotels in the UK’s busiest ports investing £84m and creating around 350 jobs overall.

Daily Echo:

The Southampton hotel would have 140 rooms and would be in the city centre though Travelodge said they were currently on the lookout and did not have a site in mind yet.

It is not yet decided whether the new hotel will be a new build or conversion of an existing building, or a mixture and the company were not able to give a timescale at this stage on when the hotel was likely to open.

Tony O’Brien, Travelodge Property Director, said: “The city is a key destination for our business, as demand for good quality and great value accommodation in Southampton is growing at great pace.

“Therefore, to meet this trend, we are looking for another site to build an even bigger hotel in the city as part of our expansion to open more hotels in the vicinity of the UK’s busiest ports.”

He said with more Britons enjoying cruises, Travelodge had witnessed a boom, with port based hotels seeing a nine per cent rise in occupancy in the last 12 months with many people choosing to stay overnight in a Travelodge before an early embarkation.

Other sites being looked at include Portsmouth, Plymouth, Liverpool, Newcastle and Harwich.

James Cooper, Chief Executive Officer of Associated British Ports, said: “The UK’s ports are going through something of a renaissance at the moment with significant investments taking place across the country.

“One of the fastest growing segments has been ferry traffic as people increasingly appreciate that ferries offer better value and less hassle than the alternatives.

“Also add the extraordinary growth in the cruise industry in recent years and it is not surprising that demand for hotels in our ports is also increasing.”

The new West Quay hotel reported that since it opened most nights have been sold out and it expected to be sold out throughout the summer.

Robert Joy, Southampton West Quay Travelodge Hotel Manager added: “This is great news for the city too, as our research shows annually Travelodge customers will boost the local economy by £2 million spending in local businesses during their stay.”

Stewart Dunn, chief executive of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “It underlines Southampton’s position as the cruise capital of Europe and that hotels are seizing the opportunity to invest in the growing cruise market.

“It’s good news for the shops and restaurants and business in general.

“Southampton is obviously in demand.”