Travelodge, the fastest growing major UK hotel brand in 2014*, is capitalising on its strong performance with the 2015 opening of 15 new hotels across the UK, with an investment value of almost £100 million.
The new hotels include four London locations, a new central Glasgow property and key regional locations including the Thames Valley tech corridor, Southampton and Bristol.
With this expansion Travelodge is expected to create 400 new jobs, including 350 positions in the new hotels and 50 support roles. Following the opening of these new properties, the Company’s portfolio will include 510 hotels and 37,906 rooms in the UK.
Travelodge’s £100m modernisation programme is now almost complete, with 87% of its guest rooms now featuring the brand’s new look and king-size Travelodge Dreamer bed. Like for like revenue per available room (RevPAR) grew by 17% in 2014. This strong growth made Travelodge the fastest growing major UK hotel brand for like for like sales in 2014.
Travelodge has also identified potential for more than 150 further hotels across the UK, with the new hotels expected to support the creation of a further 3000 new jobs. The company announced the signing of the first three hotels towards its long-term expansion plans, with new properties at London Dagenham, Dover and Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, at a total investment value of £13m.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne visited Birmingham Airport Travelodge had welcomed news that Travelodge is set to create more than 3,000 jobs across the UK as it looks to boost its estate by opening more than 150 new hotels over the next eight years.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said: “Our long-term economic plan for the Midlands is to make the area an Engine for Growth by backing business and supporting growth. The expansion of a great British brand like Travelodge within a growing hotel and leisure industry in the UK, is fantastic news.”
“Travelodge’s expansion is not just reliant however on tourists as increased demand from business customers and families have also boosted growth.”
Peter Gowers, Travelodge Chief Executive said: “We are well underway with our plans to build new Travelodge. We’re investing more than £100m in modernising our hotels for our customers and we now have 87% of guest rooms upgraded to our new look. In 2015 we are opening 15 new hotels, creating 400 new jobs and extending our network still further.
With our modernised hotels and unbeatable value, we are well placed to serve the rapidly growing demand for low-cost travel. We see the potential for more than 150 further hotels across the UK and look forward to creating more great places to stay and thousands more jobs over the years ahead.”
The Chancellor visited Birmingham Airport Travelodge hotel following a speech he made earlier with the Prime Minister where they set out their 6-point long-term economic plan for the Midlands in two major speeches.
There, the pair announced that a key cornerstone of that plan is to make the Midlands an ‘Engine for Growth’ by backing the area’s core strengths, including supporting tourism and visitors to the region, an industry which generated £1.3 billion for the local economy in 2012 and 2013.
* In 2014 the midscale and economy hotel sector was the fastest growing part of the UK hotel market. According to Smith Travel Research (STR) the midscale and economy sector grew revenue per available room (RevPAR) by 12.3% in 2014. Travelodge like for like RevPAR grew by 17% over the same period, making Travelodge the fastest growing major UK hotel brand for like for like sales in 2014.
