A NEW budget hotel which aims to attract more visitors to the town officially opened its doors yesterday.

Swindon West Travelodge, situated close to the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet in Rodbourne, attracted £6 million of third-party investment and has created 20 new jobs.

The hotel is being managed by Aneta Kopysc, who received over 600 applications from locals to join her new team.

She said: “I am very proud to have built a fantastic team who are as passionate as me about delivering great customer service and going the extra mile for our customers.

“I am also looking forward to developing my team members to become hotel managers of the future; just like the opportunity I was given.

“I am delighted to be managing the closest hotel to Swindon Designer Outlet, which attracts visitors from across the UK.

“We have got to a flying start and with room rates from £29, we are gearing up for a very busy 2019.”

Aneta is one of thousands of Travelodge staff members who have successfully climbed the career ladder from an entry level position into management.

She started in 2011 as a receptionist and within six months, successfully secured a place on the in-house management programme Aspire, then within the year graduated into a management position.

Travelodge south west regional director Gary Steele cut the ribbon to open the new hotel.

He said: “With the county attracting record visitor numbers there is a shortage of great quality and good value accommodation. To fill this gap, we have opened a second hotel in Swindon and our first Travelodge in Chippenham.

“These additions offer even more choice to travellers and boost our local network to eight hotels across the county.

“Swindon West Travelodge is the closest located hotel to the popular designer outlet and is ideally located to service business and leisure travellers visiting Swindon.

“This is also great news for the local economy as our research shows; customers will spend double their room rate with local businesses during their stay.

“This equates to an annual spend of nearly £2 million.”

As previously reported in the Adver, the hotel had been trading for a few weeks before the official opening ceremony.

The purpose built 70-room hotel features an on-site restaurant called the Bar Café and free car-parking, with family, double and accessible rooms styled in the company’s contemporary brand design.