The opening of Jersey's second Premier Inn hotel has been pushed back until late March.

The hotel chain previously planned on opening the 122-bedroom site on 14 February.

Matt Case, Premier Inn's Regional Operations Manager, says the short delay won't impact the busy summer season:

"The opening of our new hotel in Jersey has unfortunately been pushed back to the end of March. We're just finalising a few things with the construction of the hotel itself.

"When we propose opening dates, they are always 'proposed' dates, but we're confident that we've given ourselves enough time for the building to be good to go, and to make sure our team has been recruited and their induction completed in time to welcome guests."

The company is still on track to open its first Guernsey hotel at Admiral Park next month.

Construction work at Admiral Park is being finished up ahead of Guernsey's Premier Inn opening next month.

Mr Case says the company is expecting a big demand in hotel rooms in the Channel Islands this year:

"We're seeing a high demand for people to book in out-of-city locations. Whether that's by the coast or our properties near national parks or local attractions, we're seeing a big rise in bookings there compared to what has always been our 'core' city centre hotels."

He added that the existing Premier Inn at Charing Cross has been a 'brilliant success' and given the company an idea of what they can expect in terms of demand for hotel rooms:

"Charing Cross is the one hotel we've already got in the Channel Islands, so we can use that as a benchmark. Bookings and occupancy rates have been really strong - last week it was fully booked every night. We're seeing a real stable level of occupancy - I think it's a benefit of our position in the market that we're not particularly seasonal.

"Whilst we're fully booked all summer with holidaymakers who want to get away and to come and see the beauty of Jersey, even in the quieter periods, we continue to stay open and continue to see occupancy rates upwards of 70% - either from business travellers or people visiting friends and family all year round."

Construction work continues at the new Bath Street Premier Inn

The company previously said it expected the Bath Street hotel would provide around 40,000 overnight stays a year, attracting an annual visitor spend of approximately £1.6 million/year towards the island's economy.

Mr Case says as well as creating 35 new jobs in Jersey, some experienced staff members from their Charing Cross hotel will be transferring to Bath Street and taking on management roles 'to share their expertise and offer support to new team members.

He went on to say that Premier Inn 'wants to be a part of the community' and is planning to hold launch events for its new hotels in Jersey in Guernsey, inviting islanders and local businesses to have a look around before they start welcoming guests.