Design & Construction

The Landlord will need to allow for all the work necessary to achieve the BREEAM standard, including professional fees and administration costs. Further assistance in the preparation of BREEAM assessments for Travelodge hotels is provided in our Tenant’s Requirements Document.

Contact BREEAM directly or visit their website for additional information about sustainability.

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Travelodge development types fall into three categories:

• New build
• Conversions of existing buildings
• Going concerns

All can be either a standalone hotel or a Travelodge forming part of mixed-use schemes, with Travelodge sitting above separate ground floor occupiers or co-locating in schemes with complimentary uses (retail, drive-thru, gyms, nursery, offices, residential etc.), sometimes with shared or demised parking. See Case Studies for examples.

Travelodge does not have a standard floor plate and will accept layouts which are compliant with our Tenant’s Requirements Document. The Tenant’s Requirement Document (TRD) is available upon request from the relevant Development Manager.

Floor plans, design and specification will be developed with and approved by the Development Manager or our retained Outsourced Project Manager (Nigel Himpson of Wakemans or Gemma Taylor of Baker Hollingsworth).

Each bedroom will have a window and be laid out and meet the minimum dimensions, all in accordance with the TRD unless otherwise agreed. Travelodge does not have a standard footprint, nor a minimum or maximum number of bedrooms per floor. However, please bear in mind that the most efficient floor plate has bedrooms either side of a central corridor and a linen room is needed on each floor. Building regulations also require minimum travel distances for fire escape purposes and this will determine how many fire escapes are needed.

As an example, the floorplan below shows our latest Travelodge layout at Wimbledon, opened in November 2022.

Also below are site layout and elevations for Wimbledon, which provide a good template for a typical, Travelodge that is up to 4/5 storeys. Other than window setting out and service arrangements, Travelodge is not prescriptive about the materials used in the envelope or external works. Further detail is set out in the TRD.

The Development Manager will advise you of the appropriate mix of rooms in each case, although Building Regulations call for a minimum of 1 in 20 rooms to be Accessible, with 1 in 10 in the London Boroughs.

There are 4 standard bedroom types, with the minimum internal dimensions as follows:

• Family – 6400 x 2920
• Double Shower – 5150 x 2920
• Double Squeeze Room – 5150 x 2625
• Accessible – 6000 x 3600

If the floor plate is constrained, the Travelodge design team will work with the developer to agree non-standard bedroom layouts which, whilst not meeting the minimum dimensions set out above, will incorporate all necessary features of the standard rooms and comply with our Brand and Operational Requirements.

Ground floor bedrooms will not usually be acceptable where rooms are adjacent to the public highway.

On average, each bedroom equates to approximately 300 sq ft GIA, inclusive of circulation space.

For food & beverage, Travelodge has two offers – Vending and Bar Café. The Development Manager will advise which will be required in each case. This is often dependent upon the proximity and availability of suitable, nearby and convenient, alternative F&B to provide Travelodge customers with breakfast and evening meal dining options.

Typically, a Travelodge of over 75 bedrooms will include a Bar Café providing covers at 65% of the overall room numbers (i.e. for a 100-bed hotel, 65 covers will be required).

Please see the scheme design section for specific details of our Tenant’s Requirements.

The Travelodge at London Battersea was the first building in the UK that was converted to a branded budget hotel. This opened in 1996 and in the intervening 18 years we have converted numerous more across the UK.

Bespoke, new build Travelodge hotels are obviously preferable than a conversion and represent most of our new openings. However, the economic viability of converting an existing building can make a conversion more beneficial than demolition and rebuild. This is because a conversion can cost less, planning can be easier to achieve and conversions are quicker to undertake than a new build, meaning not only funding over a shorter period, but also an earlier rent commencement.

Office specification is constantly improving. Some offices built less than 15 years ago cannot now be refurbished economically to provide up to date Grade A office specification and so not only will the Open Market Rental Value decrease compared to more modern offices, but the inherent value of the property will continue to decline over time. Comparatively few offices of more than 25,000 sq. ft. are let to one tenant of good covenant on a long lease. The combination of a mix of short leases, long rent-free periods, constant voids, management fees, service charge costs and the empty business rate liability for owners significantly impacts on investment yields for secondary offices. Letting the entire office space to Travelodge, for a 25-year lease with no breaks, eliminates these holding costs and can not only improve the capital value, but also make the asset more institutionally appealing.

In addition to office conversions, the changing structure of High Street retail in the UK is now providing opportunities to convert former retail units to new hotels. Often, a knockdown and rebuild option will be most appropriate, but Travelodge will be happy to consider conversions of these kinds of assets as well.

Design Specifications

• Floor plates should be a minimum of 27m (length) x 12m (width) to a maximum of 16m (width)
• Floor-to-ceiling height a minimum of 2.3m
• ‘Grid’ depth a minimum of 6m (such as window bays or columns)
• All bedrooms need openable windows or air conditioning
• All bedrooms need natural light
• Lifts must serve every floor
• Above 3rd party demise, drainage solution needs to be considered
• No stepped access for customers or deliveries (ramp or same level)
• Floor loadings and M&E specifications are less than those of an office
• Dedicated staircase for customers’ use but will share fire escape stairs

Parking may not be required at a town/city centre site, particularly where public transport hubs are close by, or where 24-hour, off-site parking is available nearby. For edge-of-town or out-of-town site, on-site parking will usually be required. Where on-site parking is required, this may be demised to Travelodge or shared or part-shared with other operators in a mixed-use development. Where car parking is available there will be a requirement for several spaces to include EV charging. Details of on-site or off-site parking arrangements, demised or shared and numbers required will be considered and provided by the relevant Development Manager for each opportunity.

Bin stores and ground floor linen intake stores are required on all sites and need to meet the minimum requirements for bin and linen cage numbers, as set out in the TRD. It will not be acceptable to bring deliveries through the main reception area.

Any bin store which is less than 5m from the building needs to be protected with a fire-resistant roof.
Loading/Delivery bays on the highway are acceptable, provided the travel distance to the stores is not greater than 35m and access is level.

Travelodge have national supply contracts for linen, refuse, food, dray and other ancillary items. The vehicle sizes are set out below: