Travelodge has today announced the next wave of its ongoing expansion programme, with 15 new hotels to open across the UK in 2017, creating 325 new jobs.
The planned openings will grow its estate to 558 locations in the UK, Spain and Ireland. The new hotels will be developed by third party investors, with an approximate equivalent investment value of £125m.
In addition to new business-focused hotels in cities including Newcastle and York, the group expects to open four further hotels in 2017 that are ideally positioned for major regional shopping and leisure centres, including a new hotel by the lake at the Lakeside shopping centre.
Ten of the new Travelodge hotels opening this year will also include a bar café restaurant, bringing the number of the brand's hotels with on-site restaurants to 174.
Peter Gowers, Travelodge Chief Executive, said, “The march of the low-cost hotel sector continues, fuelled by businesses looking to reduce travel costs and the new generation of independent leisure travellers.
'To meet the growing demand, we are adding further capacity in key cities and expanding to new markets. The start of construction on our new flagship 395 room hotel in the heart of the City of London is another milestone for our growth. Together with the 15 new hotels we expect to open this year, this will continue the ongoing transformation of Travelodge into a high quality, low-cost brand for both business and leisure.”
Gowers continued, “The UK still lags major markets like the United States in its provision of good quality, low cost hotels. More than 1 in 3 hotels in the US are branded budget, compared to around 1 in 5 in the UK.
'With room to grow, we have identified 250 further locations where we believe we can take Travelodge over the years ahead. We expect to further extend our national network and also to add more rooms in London, where with average hotel prices currently at almost twice the level of the UK regions, customers are crying out for more good quality, low-cost places to stay.”
The 15 Travelodge hotels are as follows:
London Brent Cross
London Bromley Shopping Centre
London Romford Quadrant (Shopping Centre)
London Wood Green Shopping Centre
London Harrow
Bath (Westgate)
Dudley
Inverness
Newcastle (Swing Bridge)
Peterhead
Redhill
Stirling
Thurrock (Lakeside Shopping Centre)
West Bromwich
York (Layerthorpe)
Travelodge has also confirmed the start of construction of its largest new build hotel to date, a 395 room property in the heart of the City of London, expected to open in 2018. This new hotel, with an on-site restaurant will be located on Middlesex Street, in the heart of the City, close to the Gherkin. The investor is Freshwater Group.