Travelodge - Background Information
- Opened the UK's first branded budget hotel in 1985.
- Is now the 2nd largest hotel brand in the UK, with over 460 hotels.
- Over 7 million customers slept at Travelodge hotels in 2010.
- The UK's best known hotel brand, with 93% prompted brand awareness (BDRC Survey 2010).
- A low-cost operator that leads the industry on price - over 2 million bedrooms sold at £29 or less during 2010.
- www.travelodge.co.uk is the most visited travel website in the UK (>2.2 million visitors per month) and accounts for 87% of all Travelodge bookings.
- Over 6,000 employees in the UK, Ireland and Spain.
- Operates more hotels and bedrooms in London and Edinburgh (the UK's top 2 two tourist destinations) than any other brand.
Travelodge Growth Plans: Travelodge has doubled the size of its estate during the last 6 years and during this time has focused on city centre growth to rebalance its portfolio away from roadside locations. Today, 62% of Travelodge rooms are in major cities and towns, with 18% being in London.
Travelodge plans to grow its market share from its current 4.5% of the Serviced Accommodation Sector to around 1,000 hotels and 10% of the market by 2025. This will be achieved via a developer-led, leasehold development model. Approximately 60% of this growth will come from new developments, 20% will be from converting alternative buildings, such as office blocks.
A copy of Travelodges current target requirements list can be downloaded from its Development website at:
www.travelodgedevelopment.co.uk
Low pricing strategy: Travelodge is a consumer champion brand, focused on driving prices across the hotel industry in order to encourage more people to use hotels. The budget chain’s low prices are delivered by commitment to operational efficiency and a low cost business model. This year alone, Travelodge will offer over £2 million rooms at £29 or less.
Online: 87% of reservations are made online at www.travelodge.co.uk. Rooms are available to book 12 months in advance and the site attacts 4.5 million visitors each month. Between 2008 and 2011 Travelodge.co.uk was identified by Hitwise UK as the most visited hotel website in the 'Travel - Destination and Accommodation' category. Travelodge has also consistently appeared in the Hitwise HotShops 100 list (a list of the most visited e-commerce sites in the UK) since it was first published in 2009, demonstrating the strength of the brand and volume of business generated online for hotel bookings.
People: Travelodge is committed to employing entry level staff within the local community of our Hotel locations. We work closely with Job Centre Plus to identify candidates for our Hotels and continue to have success in recruiting from the local unemployed from within Job Centre's priority groups.
Travelodge training:
The Fast Track to Management Programme: This is a 12-week programme that fast tracks entry level staff to hotel management. The programme is available to internal employees, who go through a rigorous selection process to identify Travelodge future managers. To date over 393 staff have been promoted to a management position via this method.
Travelodge also offers a six month version of the Fast Track Programme to ensure it provides equal opportunity for staff that require more flexible working due to young children or personal commitments.
Apprenticeship Programme: We offer an alternative to University with JuMP (Junior Management Programme). It provides students with suitable A-Levels a fast track route into management. On this programme school leavers can continue their education, obtain work experience, receive a salary and become a manager by the age of 21.
In 2011 we hired 35 apprentices and aim to increase that to 150 in 2012.
Product: In a bid to win more customers in the run up to the Olympics, Travelodge launched a new room and Bar Cafe design in 2007. The new Travelodge room has been created in a contemporary style, incorporating a red, white and blue colour scheme with zebrano rich tone furnishings and mood setting coloured lighting. Also included in the room is a digital flat screen TV and Wi-Fi. The room's en-suite facilities have also been updated to reflect the new style. The new design is the first time the 'no frills' room has seen a wholesale change in design since the company's inception in 1985.
Brief History of Travelodge
Travelodge was the first budget hotel brand to launch in the UK. In 1985, Travelodge opened its first hotel on the A38, in Barton under Needlewood, before developing another six roadside hotels in its first year. Travelodge is now owned by private equity firm, Dubai International Capital.
Travelodge Action on Industry Issues
Olympics 2012: The 2012 Olympics provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to promote British tourism and act as a catalyst for UK tourism growth. Travelodge is investing £140m in London between now and 2012, building 20 hotels and creating 750 new jobs.
A study commissioned by Travelodge exploring the impace of the Olympic Games on tourism valued the 2012 Olympics to the UK economy at potentially £3 billion - one billion more than Government forecasts.
Should UK tourism perform at the projected level, £3 billion extra spending could be generated by 6.6 million more visitors between 2007 and 2016. A market worth £14.2 billion today would rise to £24 billion in 2016 creating 75,000 more tourism jobs for the economy. These revenues could significantly reduce Britain's £18 billion tourism trade deficit tranforming UK tourism into a powerhouse industry of the future.
The Travelodge Business Account Card: Offers business customers a dedicated booking and payment solution.
With up to six weeks interest free credit available, the BAC offers business customers additional support with their travel expenditure during the current economic downturn as well the opportunity to access better corporate rates than any direct competitor. The Business Account Card has been developed with SME and corporate businesses in mind. Every month, many hundreds of these contact Travelodge as they look to move away from midmarket hoteliers in favour of the budget sector.
For further information on the Travelodge Business Account Card, and how it can support your business, please visit www.travelodge.co.uk/business, or email us at bacqueries@travelodge.co.uk.
