Travelodge announces a £10 million relaunch

Budget hotel chain Travelodge is bringing in the New Year with a £10 million relaunch after having a lousy year in 2012, losing more than £70 million.

Accompanied by a new TV advertising campaign, the hotel chain has spent the last 12 months refurbishing more than 16,000 of its hotel rooms. The company has spent the last year trying to catch up with its rival Premier Inn and now currently has revenue gains of around 15 percent on a like-for-like basis.

Chairman of Travelodge, Brian Wallace, who has previously worked at the Hilton Group and Ladbrokes said that the company had been trading strong since the summer adding: “wounded animals come back to life, and we are back to life in a big way.”

All 35,000 of the chain’s hotel rooms will be refurbished by 2015, with each equipped with a Sleepeezee bed, which most commonly can be found in 5 star hotel chains.

It also plans to open 14 new hotels in 2014 and has seen success with a contract with the government, which is kits biggest corporate customer.

Mr Wallace said that he felt confident that Travelodge has found its feet again, likening the chain to low-cost airline carrier easyJet, suggesting that business people are now seeing the chain as an alternative to the Hilton saying: “it’s completely acceptable [to stay at Travelodge], especially with the product we are offering and the service we give: it’s a very good product.”