Travelodge reveals £60.7m expansion plan

The sites will add 1,133 rooms to Travelodge’s rapidly increasing portfolio, following a five-year campaign to expand beyond the firm’s traditional roadside locations.

Three of the hotels will be in Bethnal Green, Bank and Ealing in London, as the group plans to become the largest chain in the capital before the 2012 Olympics.

Others will be built in the MEN Arena, Manchester University, Bristol, Liverpool, Andover, Camberley and Cannock.

The group said motorway and trunk route sites now make up 25% of its 390 hotels, which have a combined total of 28,000 rooms. Half its locations are in city centres, and the rest are in suburban, seaside and tourist areas.

Last year Travelodge expanded faster than any other time since it began in 1985, as business travellers turned to cheaper accommodation.

Paul Harvey, managing director for development, said: “During the recession we have taken the opportunity to grow where many have put their development on hold.

“In 2009 we secured more hotels than any other year in our history and have been able to attain superior sites due to lower property prices.”