SIXTY jobs will be created when two new Travelodge hotels open in Abingdon Road and Bicester next year.

And the budget hotel chain is actively searching for three more sites in Oxfordshire, which will generate another 90 jobs.

Chief executive Peter Gowers hailed Oxfordshire as a “key part” of the Thame-based firm’s £100 million expansion plans during a visit to Travelodge’s Pear Tree roundabout hotel on Tuesday to mark the firm’s 30th anniversary.

Calling for more affordable hotels, he warned: “You can’t keep the city of Oxford only for those who have lots of money and can afford to stay in the Randolph.”

The former Oxford University student lived in Lake Street, off Abingdon Road, while studying law at Keble College.

He added: “I have had first-hand experience of it because my parents couldn’t find anywhere to stay when they visited me and they were not in a position to afford the Randolph.”

Mr Gowers said he wanted to build Travelodge hotels in the centre of Oxford. But he added: “It’s difficult to find sites here.

“There is a challenge for the city and county councils to strike the right balance between presenting Oxford as a heritage site and keeping up with the times.”

The Abingdon Road Travelodge, which will sleep 83, opens next spring, while the new hotel in Bicester’s Franklyn’s Yard development will accommodate 53 and open next summer.

The Bicester hotel may include noodle kettles to cater for the rise in Chinese guests who are drawn to the county by Bicester Village, Blenheim Palace and Oxford University.

Mr Gowers said: “The Chinese segment is one of the fastest growing in our business and we have to adapt our cities in terms of language and transport.

“We found some of our Chinese guests were using the kettles to cook noodles, so are considering putting noodle kettles in the rooms in London and will do the same in Bicester.

“We will also make sure more things are translated into Mandarin.”

The Travelodge boss also presented mother-of-three Marcia Marriott, from Botley, with a gift to celebrate 30 years as a receptionist. The chain’s Oxfordshire hotels are seeing the biggest growth from corporate business, which has increased four-fold.

Mr Gowers said: “Like most businesses, we have seen a shift away from old-style manufacturing cities to university towns such as Oxford, which is hi-tech-based and home to many fast-growing firms.”

Apart from the 197-room Travelodge at Pear Tree roundabout, which employs 37 staff, the firm also has hotels in Burford, Bicester, Thame and Wheatley.

All five have been upgraded in the past two years, at a total cost of £1.5m, part of a £100m national spend.

Owners GoldenTree Asset Management, Avenue Capital Group and Goldman Sachs rescued the chain in 2012, after it reached near-collapse.

Since then, it has seen a turnaround in fortunes, with a 60 per cent rise in profits and revenue which was up by 15 per cent.