The budget hotel operator has put aside £84 million to invest in 14 hotels at portside locations which it says will create 350 new jobs.
The number of people taking trips from UK ports is rising year-on-year with figures from the Department for Transport showing that the number of UK International Sea Passengers rose to 22.4 million in 2013. The UK has also become the number one cruise market in Europe and the second largest in the world.
Currently 48 of Travelodge's 516 hotels are in the vicinity of Britain's biggest ports with occupancy up at them all over the last 12 months.
Paul Harvey, Travelodge managing director, Property said: “As a result of more Britons taking to the waves, we have also experienced a boom at Travelodge. Our port based hotels have seen a 9 per cent rise in occupancy as Britons kick start their dream sea holiday by staying over in a Travelodge hotel prior to early embarkation.
“To support this growing holiday trend, we are looking for a further 14 new hotel sites at UK’s busiest Port locations. This includes another site in Southampton, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Liverpool, Newcastle and Harwich.”
The announcement comes as Travelodge opens its third hotel in Southampton. The 94-bedroom Southampton West Quay Travelodge represents an investment of £6m and has created 30 jobs.