Travelodge targets UK’s conference hubs in £100 million investment

Travelodge has announced a raft of new openings targeting some of the UK’s most popular conference hubs, as part of a £100 million investment.

The hotel chain has pledged to open in 10 new target locations after opening a 68-room hotel near Telford International Conference Centre.

The plans will create an estimated 300 new jobs

The UK events sector contributed roughly £42 billion to the UK economy in 2017, according to Eventbrite, making it a resilient market despite low levels of consumer confidence.

Travelodge said that demand from business customers for accommodation close to conference centres has risen over the past three years. More than half of Travelodge sales are now from business customers.

But the strong growth in demand has now outstripped supply in key areas.

“Our hotels located close to conference and event centres are literally booked out as soon as event dates are released and value seeking attendees will even book into a Travelodge up to 20 miles from the event venue,” said Paul Harvey, Travelodge managing director of property.

The company is actively hunting for hotels near conference centres in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Coventry, Brighton and Bournemouth.

Target venues include London’s Olympia and the ACC Liverpool, which just played host to this year’s Labour Party Conference.

The company has benefited from consumers and businesses trading down to budget hotels this year amid the UK’s economic slowdown.

Revenue rose 8% to £317.2 million in the six months to June 27, while adjusted earnings grew £1.3 million to £43.3 million.

It has also unveiled ambitious expansion plans to open another 100 hotels in London, in addition to its existing 75 sites.