Travelodge targeting over 300 new locations
Travelodge has said it sees significant growth opportunities in the UK, as it identifies 300 new target locations.
The budget hotel chain expects to open six new hotels in 2024, but said this number will increase to 15-20 new sites a year once market conditions improve.
Travelodge also said it will continue to review extension opportunities across its existing estate.
This comes as the chain releases a trading update for nine months ending 30 September 2023 (Q1-Q3), a period during which it saw record performance during the third quarter.
During the first three quarters, Travelodge recorded an year-on-year increase in revenue of 16.7% to £782m, whilst EBITDA profit was up 22.4% to £201.2m.
The chain added that it had seen strong momentum in the fourth quarter, with the acceleration of its hotel refit programme, and plans to upgrade around half of its current estate by the end of 2024.
Travelodge has previously said it is exploring further brand partnerships as part of its plans to reach more new locations.
Jo Boydell, Travelodge chief executive, said: “I am pleased to announce a record performance for the quarter, reflecting continued demand from Travelodge’s diverse range of leisure and business customers who seek affordable, quality accommodation.
“We continue to invest in our business to drive growth and strengthen our brand proposition. Our room and hotel transformation continues at pace – we will have refitted approximately 25% of the room estate by the end of this year, with plans to accelerate this investment to upgrade approximately 50% of the room estate by the end of 2024. We also launched our multi-million-pound “Better get a Travelodge” advertising campaign in September.
“We are encouraged to see the positive trading patterns continuing into Q4 as we benefit from staycations, event bookings and continued demand from customers seeking value for money. Travelodge’s affordable proposition, together with our well-invested and diversified hotel network, positions us well to deliver long-term growth.”
Earlier this year, the hotel chain was put on the market for £1.2bn.