Last month, Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel chain, announced it expects to open a further four new hotels in the lead-up to Christmas, two of these hotels officially opened on the 22nd of November in London’s top growth hotspots - Elephant & Castle and Manor House. Both of these hotels are located in a prime location close to the tube station.

The other two hotel openings include the group’s seventh hotel in Newcastle at Cobalt Business Park, the UK’s largest office park and its second property in Walton on Thames, Surrey. Both of these hotels are expected to open in time for Christmas.

With the opening of these four hotels, Travelodge will have opened 17 new hotels across the UK this year and created 360 new jobs. Collectively these 17 hotels represent an investment of £175 million for third party investors and will boost the group’s hotel network to over 595 locations in the UK, Ireland and Spain.

London Elephant & Castle Travelodge, a 140 room hotel and London Manor House Travelodge, a 143 room hotel are both Travelodge Plus concepts. This is the group’s ‘budget chic’ hotel format featuring SuperRooms, signature rooms and an on-site contemporary designed restaurant and bar called The Bar Café. Launched in 2018, Travelodge Plus is designed around the needs of the budget traveller who wants that little bit more style and choice with little touches to make it easier to work and relax both inside and outside the room.

With today’s two London hotel openings, Travelodge now operates 79 hotels across London and is one of the biggest hotel chains in the capital.

Newcastle Cobalt Park Business Park Travelodge, an 80-room hotel with a Bar Café restaurant is the first budget hotel to open at the business park which is home to over 150 companies, including the world’s top companies and 14,000 employees. The new hotel is an office conversion with a new build extension.

Walton on Thames Central Travelodge, a 72-room hotel is also part of a regeneration programme which involves converting a redundant office block into a new mixed use scheme. The ground floor is a Marks & Spencer Foodhall and the new Travelodge sits above. This hotel will feature SuperRooms - the group’s premium economy room-type which dials up the comfort factor and is designed for customers who want the choice of a more premium room.

The SuperRoom was the first of its kind to be launched in the UK budget hotel market in 2017. With Walton on Thames Central Travelodge, the group now offers over 2,000 SuperRooms collectively across 58 hotels.

Craig Bonnar, Travelodge Chief Executive said: “We are delighted that after a challenging start to this year, we will complete our 2021 new hotel openings programme in time for Christmas and end the year with a strong network of over 595 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain.”

“This year, we have opened new Travelodge’s 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. As adding a low cost hotel, like Travelodge is an attractive choice, as it draws visitors, creates jobs and helps to boost the local economy.”

“Looking forward into 2022 and beyond, we are very excited by the win-win development possibilities out there for investors and Travelodge. As the pandemic has accelerated major change and opened new opportunities for new build, conversion and mixed-use schemes, especially in prime locations that were not previously attainable. With our successful low cost business model and strong covenant, we are well placed to act as a catalyst to drive the local development agenda and grow our hotel network across the UK.”

Detailed below are the 17 hotels in Travelodge’s 2021 new hotel opening programme

  1. Boston (Lincolnshire)
  2. Bristol Avonmouth
  3. Bristol Emersons Green
  4. Farringdon (Oxfordshire)
  5. Kendal (Lake District)
  6. Leicester city centre
  7. London Elephant & Castle (Travelodge Plus)
  8. London Manor House (Travelodge Plus)
  9. Mansfield
  10. Newcastle Cobalt Business Park
  11. Newark on Trent
  12. Poole
  13. Rochdale
  14. Sandwich
  15. St Albans (Travelodge Plus)
  16. Walton on Thames
  17. Witney

About Travelodge

Founded in 1985, Travelodge is Britain's very first budget hotel chain and today is one of the largest budget hotel chains in the UK, with a portfolio of over 600 hotels and over 46,000 bedrooms across the UK, Ireland and Spain.

In Spain, Travelodge has an established profitable presence and as of April 2024, its portfolio doubled to 12 hotels, having recently acquired a further six properties. Travelodge has ambitious growth plans within this market and has identified the top 20 key locations where it would like to open additional hotels in Spain.

Welcoming over 22 million guests annually across the UK, Ireland and Spain, the majority of Travelodge hotels are located in major cities, towns and holiday hotspots as well as by airports and key business hubs. With 90% of its hotels rated 4* or above on

TripAdvisor, Travelodge is proud to offer guests across its diverse customer base a good value experience – whether they are travelling for business or leisure. In 2023, approximately 50% of rooms were sold for less than £60.

Whether out celebrating a birthday, going to a concert or sporting event, visiting friends and family, taking a business trip, working away from home, or taking a short break, we help people to go and do their thing by Being the Brilliant Base.

Travelodge continues to invest in its ongoing hotel refit programme which is expected to see 50% of the Travelodge room estate upgraded to its new design by the end of 2024. The brand is also continually evolving its quality offering to deliver a better experience for its diverse mix of business and leisure guests such as its new look Bar Cafe design, 85 Bar Café, which has been rolled out to selected UK hotels as part of the refit programme.

Travelodge is focussing on its environmental and social impact, with sustainability integral to its business strategy. It's Better Future sustainability plan aims to build a more sustainable future for its customers, colleagues and the planet, and it is underpinned by three core pillars: Inclusive – ensuring we are accessible, inclusive and well-priced to our customers and colleagues; Caring – creating a caring and healthy environment for our colleagues and customers and ensuring their wellbeing; and Conscious – Travelodge is conscious of its impact on the planet, taking into account the waste it produces, the energy and other resources it consumes and the carbon emissions it generates.

For further information visit travelodge.co.uk or the Travelodge Hotels Limited LinkedIn page.

The Travelodge Press Office
+44 1844 35 8703
Travelodge