Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel brand celebrates 20 years of trading at UK seaside resorts this summer. The hotel chain opened its first seaside hotel in Brighton in 1999 and has opened its 36th seaside resort hotel at Rhyl beach.
To mark this 20 year milestone anniversary, Travelodge, who operates 584 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain has announced tha it is looking to grow its coastal hotel network with a further 26 properties in seaside resorts and coastal towns in the British Isles. This programme will offer the growing leisure traveller market more choice, greater value coastal holiday destinations and support local coastal economies with their regeneration plans.
This coastal expansion programme of 26 hotels would represent a potential investment of £165 million for third party investors and would create around 650 new jobs.
The Travelodge coastal development target list stretches the length and breadth of the UK map and beyond. Starting from Lerwick, the capital of the Shetlands, going down and across to Pwllheli, in Wales, and then, down to Cornwall and beyond to Jersey and Guernsey.
The list below details the 26 seaside resort and coastal towns where Travelodge is looking to open a hotel:
- Aberystwyth
- Bognor Regis
- Bournemouth
- Bude
- Canterbury / Whistable
- Deal / Sandwich
- Eastbourne
- Falmouth
- Folkestone
- Guernsey
- Hove
- Jersey
- Lerwick
- Looe / Fowey
- Lowestoft
- Newquay
- Oban
- Penarth
- Penzance
- Pwllheli
- Shoreham-by-Sea
- St Ives
- Tenby
- Truro
- Western Super Mare
- Weymouth
This year, is set to be the strongest year for holidaying at home, according to the Travelodge 2019 Holiday Index. This summer, 69% of Britons are taking their annual summer holiday in the UK – this is an increase of 12% (57%) from 2018 with the average holiday being a week. Also Britons are spending more on their summer break this year with an average spend of £874. This is the highest spend since Travelodge started its annual holiday index in 2011 when the average spend was £399.28. Collectively Britons will boost the UK economy by £40 billion this year by holidaying on British shores this summer.
The report also revealed that over half of Britons at 58% have opted to holiday at home due to Brexit uncertainties and are showing their solidarity by supporting UK tourism and their economy.
Findings also revealed a growing trend in more Britons seeking value from their holiday time. In 2019, 45% of British holidaymakers (A five per cent increase from 2018) are taking a three location Summercation. This includes a beach, rural and city stopover as part of their week’s holiday. This is a cost effective way of creating three holidays for the price of one and also provides great content for social media news feeds.
Research also shows it’s the death of the traditional two week holiday as 85% of Britons are splitting the traditional two week annual holiday into a seven day block supported with three short breaks throughout the year. A traditional jaunt to the seaside remains a firm favorite with 45% of Britons flocking to the coast this summer. For the fifth consecutive year, Cornwall keeps its crown as the nation’s top holiday destination. In second place is Blackpool rising up the ranks from 15th position in 2018. Devon has slipped down to third position after previously holding the number two slot for several years.
