Travelodge opens budget luxe London Docklands hotel as it eyes up hundreds of new sites in the city
Travelodge has opened its first new-build budget luxe hotel in London Docklands, marking a vote of confidence in the capital as a tourist hub.
The London Docklands Travelodge, which is located by East India DLR station, was officially opened by Travelodge chief Jo Boydell and UKHospitality chief Kate Nicholls.
At the opening, the hotel giant said London remains a key growth area and that Travelodge was actively looking for 127 new hotel sites.
This potential investment could represent an investment of nearly £3 billion for third party investors and create over 6,000 new jobs.
Commenting on the announcement, Travelodge Chief Property & Development Officer Steve Bennett said he was delighted to have boosted the hotel network to 595, having opened five new hotels so far this year. The firm currently has hotels in 31 out of the 33 London boroughs.
Bennett added that the new hotels in London and Hexham, Northumberland, were expected to grow at pace, especially for staycation visits.
Visit Britain estimated that inbound visits to the UK for the full calendar year was set to increase to 21.1 million, and spending to £16.9bn.
The group said that by the end of 2022 visits will have recovered to around two thirds of pre-COVID levels, bolstered by Jubilee celebrations and the removal of travel restrictions abroad.
The Tower of London welcomed more than 70,000 visitors in the week ending July 3, nearly hitting pre-pandemic levels.
Earlier this year, London mayor Sadiq Khan announced plans to invest an additional £10m to attract more international travellers.