Travelodge invests £100m in new sites to capitalise on UK conference market

● Chain plans to create 300 jobs at ten new hotels, including two in Scotland

Travelodge plans to invest £100 million in new hotels located close to conference venues, as forecasts predict the UK hotel sector will grow by a further 3 per cent this year.

The budget hotel chain announced it is seeking ten sites near some of the UK’S most popular exhibition and event centres, including the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and the SEC in Glasgow, in a move that will create employment opportunities and boost local economies.

The expansion programme collectively represents an investment value of £100m for third-party investors and will lead to some 300 new jobs across the UK, the company said.

The UK events sector contributed around £42 bil- lion to the UK economy in 2017, according to Eventbrite, and Travelodge revealed that more than half of its sales now come from business customers.

Travelodge, which yesterday opened a 68-room hotel by Telford International Conference Centre, currently operates 567 hotels, 39 of which are located close to conference and event venues.

Paul Harvey, managing director of property at Travelodge, said: “Britain’s events sector is growing from strength to strength.

“However, due to the growing volume of events taking place across the country, there is a shortage of good quality and low cost accommodation close to event venues.

“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.

“Therefore, in response to the growing events market, we are actively searching to extend our network with a further ten hotels close to UK popular conference and events centres. This expansion will offer more choice and greater value to delegates and eventgoers, whilst supporting the local economy.”

The news comes as the latest Hotel Development Opportunities report from property firm Knight Frank forecasts that the UK’S hotel market will grow by 3.3 per cent this year, which equates to around 21,000 new hotel rooms.

According to the report, more than 5,200 new rooms have opened during the first six months of 2018, with a further 15,000 currently in the pipeline.

Edinburgh now has the third highest number of new hotel rooms being developed in the UK, with 2,122, while Glasgow has 1,431.