Travelodge to open 20 new London hotels
Travelodge will open 20 new hotels in London over the next five years as it seeks to fill a gap in the capital’s budget hotel sector.
The company said it is currently actively exploring opportunities at 100 locations in 29 of London’s 32 boroughs, including Westminster, Kensington and Islington.
The hotel operator, which already has 77 venues in the capital, is also targeting sites in outer boroughs such as Bromley, Croydon and Merton as it attempts to cash in on London’s budget accomodation market.
The budget sector in the capital only accounts for 23 per cent of the hotel market, with London falling behind other major UK cities such as Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester.
More than 500 new jobs and £350m of third-party investment could be created by the expansion plans, Travelodge said.
Recently, Travelodge opened two new hotels in Beckton and Dagenham in east London, boosting its total portfolio to 589.
Travelodge UK development director Tony O’Brien said: “As we look to the future, London is a world class destination for leisure and business travellers however there still remains a desperate need for more good quality, low cost accommodation; especially across the boroughs.”
He added: “Also with the average hotel price currently at almost twice the level of the UK regions, consumers are crying out for more good quality, low-cost places to stay throughout the capital.”