Colwyn Bay Travelodge has a bumper first month

Dec 23 2010 by Helen Harper, North Wales Weekly News

Travelodge, Colwyn Bay

COLWYN Bay’s newest hotel has attracted over 1,000 customers through the door in its first month.

The 54 bed Travelodge on Victoria Avenue says booking figures are soaring as the hotel is performing far better than expected in its first month, despite opening out of season and in extreme weather.

After opening mid-November the hotel has created 20 jobs and the company believes Colwyn Bay could become one of the most popular coastal destinations of their 460 hotels nationally.

Speaking on behalf of Travelodge, Sharday Wells explained: “The hotel is doing really well, especially at the weekends with the leisure travellers. It has really got off to a flying start.

“We’ve had over 1,000 customers through the door since opening. We are really pleased with the way it’s started and anticipate it being one of our busiest seaside hotels, with forward bookings looking really encouraging, especially with the weather we’ve had and Christmas, so it was an ideal time to open.”

Travelodge claims their guests spend an average of £36 a day in local shops, restaurants and bars during their stay and consequently the hotel could boost the Bay’s economy by as much as £1m a year.

Colwyn Bay town centre manager Ingrid Lewis is happy the hotel is doing well and predicted a boom to shops in the town.

“It is very good news. The visitor figures are very good already for the hotel and it can only boost the town’s trade,” she said.

The £2 million development offers rooms from as little as £19 per night and the Colwyn Bay hotel is the budget chain’s 30th seaside hotel and the company’s 20th hotel to open in Wales.

All of the new employees at Colwyn Bay Travelodge have been hired through the Job Centre Plus scheme, which helps the long-term unemployed back to work.

Andrew Davies is the hotel manager and said Christmas trade had been thriving.

“I’m so excited to be the manager of the first Travelodge in Colwyn Bay,” he said.

“We have been inundated by locals popping in to enquire about rooms for their family and friends visiting over the festive season.”