Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel brand which operates over 610 hotels across the UK and Spain, has exchanged contracts to acquire the freehold interest in a key location in Bilbao Spain, taking its tally of hotels in Spain to 14. The property is being acquired on a forward funded basis within the Travelodge OpCo Group. 

The 105-room hotel is a brand-new, purpose-built property that is already structurally complete. Final works will focus on furnishing, equipment installation, and operational readiness. The hotel is scheduled to open in Q1 2026, bringing the latest Travelodge brand standards to the Bilbao metropolitan area.

The hotel is well-connected, just a five-minute walk from the nearest metro station and with multiple bus routes nearby. It offers easy access to Bilbao’s main railway hubs, Abando and Concordia stations, as well as to Bilbao Airport. The surrounding area features a variety of amenities, including supermarkets, restaurants, and cafés, providing added convenience for guests.

In Spain, Travelodge has an established profitable presence and has ambitious growth plans within this market and has identified the top key locations where it would like to open additional hotels in Spain. 

Travelodge operates a well-diversified, high-quality network of hotels across major cities and towns in the UK and Spain.

Steve Bennett, Chief Property and Development Officer, comments: “This is another great opportunity for Travelodge to expand our presence in Spain and we are delighted to be able to acquire another rare freehold property near to Bilbao.

“Spain is an exciting market for us where we can offer tourists and business travellers quality accommodation at an affordable price. We are always looking to expand our offering in this exciting market, with around 20 locations already identified on our Spanish target requirement list.”

“We are open to a range of development types, such as office conversions, acquisitions of going concerns and forward funded new developments, and are keen to explore all available opportunities.”

-Ends-

Notes to editors:

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About Travelodge  

Founded in 1985, Travelodge is Britain’s very first budget hotel chain and today is one of the largest budget hotel chains in the UK, with a portfolio of over 600 hotels and over 47,000 bedrooms across the UK, Ireland and Spain.  

In Spain, Travelodge has an established profitable presence and has ambitious growth plans within this market and has identified the top key locations where it would like to open additional hotels in Spain. 

Welcoming over 22 million guests annually across the UK, Ireland and Spain, the majority of Travelodge hotels are located in major cities, towns and holiday hotspots as well as by airports and key business hubs. With over 96% of its hotels rated 4* or above on TripAdvisor, Travelodge is proud to offer guests across its diverse customer base a good value experience – whether they are travelling for business or leisure. 

Whether out celebrating a birthday, going to a concert or sporting event, visiting friends and family, taking a business trip, working away from home, or taking a short break, we help people to go and do their thing by Being the Brilliant Base.

Travelodge continues to invest in its ongoing hotel refit programme and has already upgraded c.60% of the Travelodge room estate to its new design. The brand is also continually evolving its quality offering to deliver a better experience for its diverse mix of business and leisure guests such as its new look Bar Cafe design, 85 Bar Café, which has been rolled out to selected UK hotels as part of the refit programme.  

Travelodge is focusing on its environmental and social impact, with sustainability integral to its business strategy. Its Better Future sustainability plan aims to build a more sustainable future for its customers, colleagues and the planet, underpinned by three core pillars: Inclusive – ensuring we are accessible, inclusive and well-priced to our customers and colleagues; Caring – creating a caring and healthy environment for our colleagues and customers and ensuring their wellbeing; and  Conscious – Travelodge is conscious of its impact on the planet, taking into account the waste it produces, the energy and other resources it consumes and the carbon emissions it generates.  

For further information visit the Travelodge website or Travelodge LinkedIn page.