TRAVELODGE has opened its second hotel in Stirling, the city where it opened Scotland’s first budget hotel in 1986. The company’s 44th Scottish hotel is located in the city centre.

It represents an investment of £6m for the landlord and has created 26 new jobs within the community.

Stirling City Centre Travelodge, the company’s 564th hotel, has 74 rooms and is the company’s first hotel in the city to feature a Bar Café, offering a great value breakfast, dinner and bar menu. It has been styled in Travelodge’s new contemporary brand design and offers rooms from £29.

MP for Stirling, Stephen Kerr, and the Provost of Stirling, Councillor Christine Simpson, joined Travelodge Chairman, Brian Wallace at a champagne reception to officially open the hotel.

At the opening event of Stirling City Centre Travelodge, the company also announced that Scotland remains a key growth area, fuelled by businesses looking to reduce travel costs, a new generation of independent leisure travellers, more Britons taking staycation breaks as well as Scotland being a popular tourists destination.

To meet this growing demand, Travelodge is looking to expand its network with a further 20 hotels and is looking for sites in up and coming holiday hotspots and business hubs. This represents an investment of £125m for investors and a job creation of approximately 385 new jobs.

Locations include: Ardrossan, Aviemore, East Kilbride, Edinburgh Park, Falkirk, Galashiels, Glasgow (five locations), Greenock, Hamilton / Motherwell, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Loch Lomond, Montrose, Newton Mearns, Oban, Pitiochry and St Adndrews.

Brian Wallace, Travelodge Chairman said: “We are delighted to open our second hotel in Stirling city centre and bring our great value Bar Café offering to the city. Stirling has a special part in Travelodge’s history as we opened Scotland’s first branded budget hotel in Stirling.”

“Over the last three decades, Travelodge has become symbolic for offering great value and today we operate 44 hotels across Scotland. However the country is growing at pace and attracting visitors from all corners of the globe but there still remains a huge shortage of good quality and great value hotels.

“Therefore to fill this gap, we are looking to extend our network with a further 20 hotels across Scotland; in up and coming leisure hot spots and growing business destinations. This expansion represents an investment of £125 million for third party investors and will create 385 new jobs.”

Neil Christison, VisitScotland Regional Director, said: “From the historic Stirling Castle to the state-of-the-art Peak sports complex, Stirling is a must-see destination for visitors to Scotland and this new Travelodge hotel is an exciting and welcome addition to the city’s strong line-up of accommodation providers.

“Scotland’s reputation as a quality destination relies on continued investment and innovation to ensure the current provision meets future demand.”

Stirling City Centre Travelodge is being managed by John Campell, the company’s youngest hotel manager in Scotland. John started with Travelodge in 2013 as a chef in Edinburgh Airport Travelodge and within three years climbed the career ladder into a management position.

John Campbell, Hotel Manager at Stirling City Centre Travelodge said: “I am very proud to have built a fantastic team who are as passionate as me about delivering great customer service. Our new hotel has got off to a flying start and customers are loving our new look rooms, especially the Travelodge Dreamer bed. Also our unlimited breakfast menu has been a big hit especially as children get to eat for free.”

“Looking ahead, business on the books is very encouraging and we are set for a very busy 2018. This is great news for the local economy too; as research shows that our customers will spend £2 million with local businesses during their stay.”