UK budget hotel chain Travelodge has officially opened its first hotel in Andover. The purpose built 76-room hotel, which features a Bar Café and onsite parking, is situated at Andover Business Park, next door to the British Army Land Forces Headquarters. The hotel represents an investment of £4m for the landlord.

A champagne reception was held to celebrate the opening of Andover Travelodge, which is the company’s 545th hotel. The Mayor of Test Valley, Councillor Karen Hamilton joined Travelodge regional director, Bryn Taylor, to officially open the hotel.

At the official opening of Andover Travelodge, the company also announced that Hampshire is a key growth area for the business and that it was looking for a further seven new hotel sites in: Winchester, Portsmouth, Southsea, Gosport, Fareham, Hedge End and Lymington.

This expansion will boost Travelodge’s portfolio in Hampshire and will create around 200 new jobs.

Bryn Taylor, Travelodge regional director said: “I am honoured to officially open our first Travelodge hotel in Andover, and to welcome our new colleagues to the company. Over the last three decades Travelodge has become famous across the county for offering unbeatable value and making travel affordable for everyone, which has helped attract more business and leisure travellers to the area.

“As we look to the future, Hampshire is a key growth area for Travelodge. Following our £3 million investment in upgrading the customer experience and raising quality levels across our 17 other Hampshire hotels, we have seen a double digit increase in sales; interestingly with more business customers staying in our hotels than ever before.

Andover Travelodge is being managed by Micael Rodrigues and his 14-strong team. Micael joined Travelodge in 2013 as a receptionist at Sunbury M3 Travelodge and during a period of three years he climbed the career ladder into management and was promoted to hotel manager at Frimley Travelodge.