Travelodge to open four ‘budget chic’ hotels this month, including in London’s Elephant and Castle and Manor House
Travelodge has announced four new hotels will be open in time for Christmas as bosses hope to cash in on families looking to travel during the festive season, with most of them to be offering ‘budget chic’ rooms.
Two new sites have already opened in London, in Elephant and Castle and Manor House, with a further one in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey.
The final site is at the Cobalt Business Park in Newcastle, with the hotel chain hoping it can help to win back business customers with more in-face meetings and less remote working.
It means Travelodge will have opened 17 new hotels across the UK in 2021, creating 360 jobs with an investment of £175m, bringing it to a total of 595 locations across the UK, Ireland and Spain.
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Bosses said the London hotels are the latest rollout of their more upmarket sites, known as “budget chic”, where some rooms are bigger as they attempt to tap into the growing market for travellers looking for a bit more luxury.
Rival Premier Inn has also launched its own premium economy rooms, with both brands benefitting from the staycation boom during the pandemic.
Craig Bonnar, Travelodge chief executive, said: “This year we have opened new Travelodges across the length and breadth of the country and many of these new hotel openings have played a pivotal part in regeneration programmes across the UK.
“Adding a low cost hotel like Travelodge is an attractive choice as it draws visitors, creates jobs and helps to boost the local economy.”
Travelodge is rebuilding the brand after pushing through a company voluntary arrangement last year to slash costs after being hit during the pandemic.
Landlords approved the deal that knocked around £144m off its rent bill.