Member Article

The Holiday Inn Blackpool Celebrates 100 Days of Success

Since opening its doors, the hotel has:

• Welcomed over 14,000 guests
• Sold over 8,000 room nights
• Served over 5,000 meals at Marco's New York Italian Restaurant
• Provided over 12,000 breakfasts to its guests

The Holiday Inn Blackpool officially opened its doors to its first guests 100 days ago and has since welcomed over 14,000 guests from around the world. The popular hotel has also sold over 8,000 rooms, 5,000 meals at Marco’s New York Italian Restaurant and provided 12,000 breakfasts to its guests.

The hotel's success represents a significant step forward in Blackpool's ongoing regeneration efforts. Since opening, the hotel has made a significant contribution to local employment, with 98% of the team coming from the Blackpool area following a successful recruitment drive earlier in the year, where the hotel received 3,068 job applications.

Since opening, the 144-bedroom hotel, which is operated by RBH Hospitality Management, Holiday Inn, it has become the best rated by guests as the best Holiday Inn in UK & Ireland out of 219 hotels. 

The Holiday Inn Blackpool will continue to build on its strong start, providing four-star hospitality to its residents, while supporting the local economy and contributing to the ongoing success of the Talbot Gateway project. 

Speaking on the successful hotel launch, General Manager, Mark Winter, said: "What a fast-paced 100 days it's been opening our doors in May. It only seems yesterday we were cutting the ribbon with Corrie legend Jack P Shepherd and it’s amazing to think we’ve had 14,000 guests through our door since that day.

“The feedback since we’ve opened from our guests, colleagues, partners and stakeholders has simply been overwhelmingly fantastic and we couldn’t have asked for a better start. We’ve got plenty of exciting plans on the horizon so please stay tuned and we can’t wait to welcome new families, business travellers and food fanatics over the coming months – there really is something for everyone here so come and see for yourself.”

The Holiday Inn Blackpool, managed by RBH Hospitality Management, is Blackpool Council owned and part of the wider regeneration project, Talbot Gateway, developed in partnership with by Muse Places.

The development is conveniently placed off the side of Blackpool North train station, offering a central hub for both business and leisure guests arriving in Blackpool.

The hotel sits above an improved underpass connecting passengers from Blackpool North train station with a new tram stop and extension connecting to the Blackpool tramway along the Promenade. Since opening in June 2024, over 80,000 trips have started or ended at the new tram stop.

Councillor Mark Smith, Cabinet Member for Levelling Up (Place) at Blackpool Council, added: “The response to the opening of the new hotel and tram stop has been phenomenal and both are being really well used. 

“The development has transformed the appearance around the train station, but also offers real economic benefits, in terms of attracting new businesses to Blackpool, creating new jobs and improving transport options, making Blackpool better for everybody.”

The wider £350m Talbot Gateway programme is regenerating Blackpool town centre, by bringing 8,000 professional workers and students to the area in the coming years.

Blackpool Council, alongside Muse, has already developed the 125,000 sq ft Number One Bickerstaffe Square council office, a Sainsbury’s supermarket and a refurbished 650-space multi-storey car park, alongside extensive public spaces for the community to enjoy.

The third phase of the Talbot Gateway regeneration includes a new seven storey, 215,000 sq ft sustainable office building which will bring over 3,000 civil service workers into the area when it opens in 2025, while land is currently being acquired ahead of phase four, a new £65m Multiversity educational campus which will also attract up to 3,000 more staff and students to the area.

Elsewhere, full planning permission is being sought by Muse and Blackpool Council for a new £45 million, 52,950 sq ft office off Talbot Road which would be home to over 1,000 employees, while plans for a new multi-storey car park are expected to be submitted later this summer.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Robson .