Travelodge Opens Its First Hotel at Birmingham Airport and Its 19th Hotel in the City

150 150 Daniel Fountain
  • 0

On Friday 26th August, the Mayor of Solihull, Cllr Irene Chamberlain and David Winstanley, Operations Director for Birmingham Airport officially opened the £9.8 million Birmingham Airport Travelodge hotel. Situated overlooking the runway on Terminal Road, the new 200 – room property is the Company’s first hotel at Birmingham Airport and the 19th Travelodge hotel in Birmingham – maintaining the budget hotel chain’s position as the biggest hotelier in the city. This new hotel opening has created 30 new jobs within the community.

Birmingham Airport Travelodge offers a range of rooms which includes, family, double and accessible rooms. All Travelodge rooms come with a luxury Hypnos king size bed, which has a royal warrant from the Queen. Each room has en-suite facilities with eco-friendly showers, a flat screen TV with 18 free digital channels, free tea and coffee making facilities and Wi-Fi.

The hotel also has a Bar Café which offers a breakfast, dinner and bar service.

To celebrate the official opening of Travelodge’s 477th hotel in Birmingham, Cllr Irene Chamberlain cut the ribbon and officially declared the hotel open for business at an opening ceremony. She also met the hotel team and took a tour of the 200-bed hotel.

In recognition of the 35,000 travellers that pass daily through Birmingham Airport, from destinations such as France, Spain, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Germany, Poland, Dubai, Pakistan and Iran – Travelodge staff have been trained to say Hello, welcome to Travelodge” in ten languages – so that they can greet international guests in their native tongue.

Birmingham Airport Travelodge is also an ideal base for plane spotting enthusiasts, as all rooms at the back of the hotel over look the airport’s busy runway. The airport’s biggest plane, an Emirates Boeing 777 which lands from Dubai every day is the main attraction for aircraft fanatics. The hotel has already been flooded with requests from guests wishing to sleep on the runway wing of the hotel so they can grab the best views.

Travelodge has invested £26.5 million in Birmingham during 2011 with the opening of four hotels. The first hotel at Birmingham’s Bull Ring Shopping Centre opened in May, followed by Birmingham Airport and finally Birmingham Moor Street and Birmingham Halesowen in November. By the end of the year the hotel chain will have 21 hotels across Birmingham and have created 100 jobs.

Birmingham Airport Travelodge is being managed by local girl, Sarah Appleby, who has been working for the Company for five years. Sarah started her career at Birmingham Fort Dunlop Travelodge as a receptionist in 2006. Within six months of joining the company, ambitious Sarah fast tracked her career and moved to become the manager at Walsall Travelodge.

Daniel Fountain / 29.08.2011

Editor, Hotel Designs

Share

  • 0

Fun fact: I’m usually the person friends rely on to organise trips, schedules, and group plans.

Workhighlights: Successfully coordinating events from planning through to delivery and seeing everything come together on the day.

Fun fact: I’m a keen cyclist and will happily bore people with copious amounts of cycling chat. My top cycling experience (so far) would have to be riding in the spectacular mountains of Crete.

Work highlights: Charles joined Forum Events in 2022. With a background in publishing, editorial media and events, Charles brings a wealth of experience to his role as Senior Production Manager. Having being involved with SPACE from the outset, he is excited to see the brand grow and develop.

Fun fact: People tell Sienna she gives off Bridget Jones vibes, and she loves to bake, always making sure there are shortbreads floating around the office

Work highlights: Sienna joined Forum Events & Media Group while studying Communications and Media, starting in the sales team where she managed and helped launch the first the PA Life Leading Venues of London SHOWCASE, where she built relationships with luxury venues across the capital. Drawn to the stories behind these spaces, she naturally transitioned into the editorial team, creating social media and editorial content. Upon graduating in June 2026, she is excited to be joining as Assistant Editor for Hotel Designs and SPACE.

Fun fact: When not working, Jess can usually be found tending to her kitchen garden in the Sussex countryside or foraging for herbs in the nearby woods. A keen grower, she recently studied a RHS Level 2 Diploma in the Principles of Horticulture during her spare time.

Work highlights: Jess joined SPACE magazine in 2022 and has since progressed from Assistant Editor to Editor. During this time, she has worked across many aspects of the publication – from shaping editorial strategy and overseeing operations to contributing to art direction and representing the brand on stage at industry events including Surface Design Show and WOW!house.

Alongside her role at SPACE, Jess has built a creative career spanning the arts, culture, design and travel sectors. Prior to joining the magazine, she spent more than a decade in the commercial art industry, in artist liaison, gallery management, and curating collections for the hospitality sector across hotels and cruise ships. During this time, she also worked on freelance projects as a writer, photographer, and creative content producer.
 
Jess studied photojournalism at London College of Communication and the Danish School of Media and Journalism and holds a first-class BA (Hons) in Culture, Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martins.

Fun fact: Katy has spent years perfecting all kinds of accents and loves a good impersonation!

Work highlights: Katy has been with Hotel Designs since the beginning, way back in 2015 when Forum Events & Media Group acquired the brand.

During this time, she has fostered many meaningful relationships with clients from across the hospitality spectrum, as well as playing a pivotal role in the launch of The Brit List Awards, Hotel Designs MEET UPs, client-led roundtables and panel talks, brand and website redesigns, HD Wellness Sets, DESIGN POD podcast, Hotel Designs LIVE panel talk series, Accessible Design Talks and more. Katy is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to help grow the Hotel Designs brand even further.
 
Most recently Katy has stepped in to the role of Publisher at SPACE magazine, the printed bi-monthly publication focused on hotel design, architecture, and development.

Together these platforms offer a comprehensive 360-degree service encompassing digital media, print publishing, and live events – providing unparalleled value to advertisers, partners, and readers alike.