Travelodge sees potential for 250 more UK hotels

Posting financial results for the year ending 31 December 2014 today, the hotel operator said it planned to open 15 new hotels this year alone and was continuing to identify more sites for growth which could create another 3,000 jobs. 

Last year Travelodge's revenue rose 14.9 per cent to £497.2m with EBITDA up 63.5 per cent to £66.2m. RevPar rose 16.8 per cent to £34.24 and average room rate was up 15 per cent to £45.33 while occupancy only grew 1 per cent o 75.5 per cent. 

Travelodge chief executive Peter Gowers said 2014's promising results were continuing into 2015. 

“The value hotel market is performing well and new Travelodge is delivering strong outperformance," he said. "Our £100m modernisation programme is nearing completion.  New king-size Travelodge Dreamer Beds have been introduced in every UK hotel and 90 per cent of our UK rooms now feature our new room design. Customer feedback on our changes has been excellent and we have seen strong growth from business customers. The improved guest experience and effective yield management have led to significant profit growth.”

Five new Travelodge hotels opened last year, although the target had been 15. This year will see the opening of sites in Richmond and Greenwich, Glasgow, the Thames Valley and Bristol among others.

"The value hotel market remains strong and we continue to outperform our competitive set. We see considerable potential for further like-for-like sales growth and are targeting the roll out of the brand to at least 250 further sites across the UK," said Gowers. 

Results come as The Times reports that the hotel chain's owners Goldman Sachs, Avenue Capital and Golden Tree Asset Management are in talks for a possible flotation of the company and preparing to appoint advisers for a possible sale that could value the company at more than £1bn.