Travelodge looks to tap into concert venues with raft of hotel openings
BUDGET hotelier Travelodge has exchanged contracts on two new hotels next to the MEN Arena in Manchester and Birmingham’s NEC.
The £24m hotels deal will see 200 rooms built at each site, specifically chosen due to the increased popularity of live music, comedy and the enduring popularity of conference and exhibitions. The deals follow recent Travelodge exchanges near London Excel, the Liverpool Echo Arena and the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle.
Travelodge, which operates 452 hotels accounting for 30,504 rooms in the UK, Ireland and Spain, plans to grow its estate to 70,000 rooms or around 1,000 hotels by 2020.
Paul Harvey, managing director for development at Travelodge, said: “The explosion in the popularity of live music and comedy events over recent years saw our hotels located near to arenas out perform expectations during the recession.
“The NEC in Birmingham and the MEN in Manchester both attract the biggest acts, conferences and events from around the world so I am delighted we have been able to secure these locations. We have identified another three arenas we are looking to build in close proximity to and I hope we will secure those deals soon.”
Travelodge is now seeking other potential sites near arenas. A focus is on London’s O2 in Greenwich, Wembley Arena and the SECC in Glasgow. Existing hotels near these popular concert and event venues have hit 100 per cent occupancy on nights when a major event is being held, Travelodge said.