MONTH IN REVIEW
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HOTEL OPENINGS
Travelodge to
open 20 new
hotels including
a flagship hotel in
London
Budget hotel chain Travelodge has
announced that it will be opening a
further 20 hotels in 2018, including a
flagship London hotel.
The London City Travelodge will be
the biggest new build hotel to date
for the company, featuring 395-rooms
and an on-site restaurant located on
Middlesex Street, close to the Gherkin.
The hotel is expected to open this
summer and will boost Travelodge’s
London portfolio to over 70 hotels,
making it one of the biggest budget
hotel operators in the capital.
The additions will create over 1,900
rooms across the UK in 2018, and
550 new jobs, expanding the chains’
network to 578 Travelodge hotels in the
UK, Spain and Ireland.
In addition, following the roll out of
1,000 SuperRooms, the company’s new
premium economy concept in 2017,
Travelodge will be opening a further
400. These will be rolled out to seven
more Travelodge hotels in London
and regional cities such as: Bristol,
Edinburgh, Manchester and York.
Peter Gowers, chief executive, said:
“Today’s announcement demonstrates
Travelodge’s continued investment in
the UK. Despite the uncertainty caused
by Brexit and economic pressures,
the UK budget hotel market remains
attractive, and we are extending our
network to put us where our customers
want to be, while creating hundreds of
new jobs across the country.
“The opening of our largest ever new
build hotel this year, in the financial
district of the city of London, shows just
how far Travelodge has travelled since
we opened our first 20-room hotel by
the side of the A38 in 1985.”
April 2018
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STAT OF THE MONTH
3,200
That’s how new hotel rooms will
become available in Manchester and
Liverpool over the next two years
HOTEL OPENINGS
Cotswolds hotel
opens new
holiday cottage
The Old Stocks Inn hotel in the
Cotswolds area has opened a new,
refurbished holiday cottage in the
market town of Stow-on-the-Wold.
Parson’s Barn marks the hotel team’s
first step in a bid to ‘shake up’ the
traditional holiday lettings market in the
Cotswolds and increase its capacity to
cater for families and group bookings.
Jim Cockell, owner of the Old Stocks
Inn, said: “We’re thrilled to officially
open our latest venture – the Old
Stocks Inn Bolthole: Parson’s Barn. We
felt that the holiday letting market really
needed a breath of fresh air. We’re out
to achieve that and shake things up
by combining the space and flexibility
guests look for with a holiday cottage
break, with all the luxurious touches
and comforts you’d expect from a
boutique hotel stay.”
He added: “When we arrived on the
Cotswolds’ hotel scene in 2015, after
a dramatic refurbishment, we made a
real mark on the tourism industry here,
helping to put Stow-on-the-Wold on
the map by offering something a little
out of the ordinary.”
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ETHICS
New report urges
hotel industry to
team up to fight
modern slavery
A new report by the Shiva Foundation
has launched calling for immediate and
coordinated action to address modern
slavery in the hotel industry.
The report is called ‘Charting
a Course for Collective Action:
Addressing Slavery in the Hotel
Industry’ and features wide-ranging
insights from across the industry.
The report is based on learnings over
the past year from the Stop Slavery
Hotel Industry Network, a group of
hoteliers convened by Shiva Foundation,
as well as a wider consultation with the
hospitality sector backed by the British
Hospitality Association.
Collectively, the Stop Slavery Hotel
Industry Network’s members are
involved with 6,000 properties in more
than 100 countries, and employ around
220,000 people across the globe.
It is estimated that there are 115,000
human trafficking victims in the
hospitality sector in Europe, of whom
93,500 are sexually exploited and
nearly 7,000 are labour exploitation
victims working in hotels.
Kevin Hyland, the UK’s independent
anti-slavery commissioner, said: “Taking
action on modern slavery and human
trafficking is not just a moral obligation
– it makes good business sense. Forced
labour in company operations or supply
chains has the potential to disrupt
business, weaken investor confidence
and cause significant brand damage
“The hotel and hospitality sector has
the opportunity to show real leadership
and strength in tackling modern
slavery, but there is still a way to go to
ensure a comprehensive and consistent
response. I urge all business leaders
join this fight, so we can ensure that
addressing slavery becomes the norm,
rather than the exception.”
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