- Travelodge is committed to low price strategy - Travelodge has released 113,000 rooms at a guaranteed £26 a night
- Year-end target of 2,500 new room openings has already been met
- Travelodge booked over 64% of all rooms online vs 29% a year earlier London
Travelodge, the UK’s number one hotel brand, is leading the budget hotel sector with price reductions. It has guaranteed a minimum of 113,000 at £26 a night, well below the price of its competitors. Unlike Whitbread’s Premier Travel Inn, Travelodge has built its success on keeping prices low and not relying on price increases to deliver growth.
As a budget hotel operator, Travelodge believes in the importance of keeping prices at a budget level. Premier Travel Inn’s price increases over the past twelve months demonstrate that the company is taking the sector in the wrong direction and taking advantage of the customer.
To improve the customer’s access to low cost accommodation, Travelodge’s innovative search tool facility on its website - www.travelodge.co.uk - allows customers to find all Travelodge hotels that have a £26 room rate. If their preferred hotel is not available at this particular rate at the time they would like to travel, up to twenty nearest hotel options are provided at the same rate.
Efficiency improvements such as these mean Travelodge’s website is ahead of its competitors. Over 64% of all rooms are now booked online compared to 29% a year earlier and, according to Hitwise, www.travelodge.co.uk is the most visited hotel website in the UK.
Travelodge has continued to expand in 2005 and has achieved its targets two months ahead of schedule with 2,500 new room openings already in 2005. Therefore, it is well placed to increase the total number of Travelodge rooms to nearly 20,000 by 2007.
Grant Hearn, Chief Executive Officer of Travelodge, said outraged: “Profitable growth at Travelodge has been, and will continue to be, achieved through cost efficiencies and growth in new hotels, rather than price increases. This commitment to low pricing makes us increasingly unique amongst our competitors. With continual price hikes at Premier Travel Inn, we can only question their commitment to remaining within the budget sector, especially since their move out of Marriott.”
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Note to Editors
* 113,000 rooms available throughout November at £26 a night. Any room in Portsmouth available at £29 and all rooms in Manchester available at £45.
- As the first budget hotel brand to launch in the UK in 1985, Travelodge currently has approximately 277 sites across the UK with the majority in city centres, near attractions and airports
- The latest BDRC British Hotel Guest Survey (February 2005) named Travelodge as the joint number one hotel brand in the UK (with Hilton) and the number one budget brand.
- Travelodge offers double, family and disabled access rooms. A family room caters for two adults and two children, both under 16 years.
- All rooms are en-suite, with luxury king size beds, colour TV and free tea and coffee making facilities
- Book online at travelodge.co.uk to reserve a room starting from £26 (£46 in Central London). Be sure to book early to get the best possible deal.
- The next best rate is available online or via the award-winning Travelodge Reservation Centre on 08700 850 950.