New Travelodge hotels planned for Fife, Angus and Perthshire

LEISURE: First venues in St Andrews, Montrose and Pitlochry among 21 new sites

Travelodge has announced plans to build its first hotels in St Andrews, Montrose and Pitlochry.

The budget hotel chain is expanding and looking to open at 21 new sites across Scotland.

So far specific sites have not been identified and no planning applications have been lodged.

Travelodge boss Craig Bonnar said: “The value hotel market continues to go from strength to strength in Scotland, boosted by ever more cost conscious businesses looking to reduce their travel costs and the growth in independent leisure travel.

“To meet this growing demand, we have started the search to find 21 suitable sites across Scotland, where we can build a new Travelodge hotel.

“This includes St Andrews, which is particularly exciting as it would be the town’s first Travelodge hotel.

“This expansion, together with the £7 million we have already invested in upgrading all of our hotels in Scotland, will help continue the ongoing transformation of Travelodge into a high-quality, low-cost brand for both business and leisure travellers.”

Out of the 21 towns identified by Travelodge, nine are new locations for the hotel chain. These also include Ardrossan, Aviemore, Galashiels, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Loch Lomond and Oban.

Travelodge announced the plan at the opening of its new hotel in Peterhead.

The company said the expansion proposal had the potential to create 400 new jobs.

The hotel giant is also looking to double its portfolio in Glasgow, with a further five hotels.

The value hotel market continues to go from strength to strength