Travelodge is going to have a busy 2013, with plans to open 14 new hotels – which includes two properties in Spain – create 420 new jobs, launch a new room concept which has been designed by its customers, introduce truckle beds and rollout out a £57m refurbishment programme across its estate.
Grant Hearn, Travelodge CEO said: “This year, the Travelodge brand will benefit from a £223 million investment – and this will help us to grow our business, strengthen our product offering and make Travelodge the best value hotel chain in the UK.”
One of the UK’s leading hotel brands, Travelodge has announced it is benefitting from a £223 million investment this year to help further grow its business. In 2013, Travelodge will open 14 hotels (1,742 rooms) at an investment of £141.5m. Twelve of these openings will be in the UK and two in Spain. The UK locations include four properties in London (Bethnal Green, Hounslow, Vauxhall and Walthamstow), Liverpool, Cambridge, Aylesbury, Southport, Kings Lynn, Sittingbourne, Manchester and Chertsey.
Grant Hearn, Travelodge CEO says: “In today’s world, Britons are looking for great value when making a hotel booking. The UK at less than 20% remains a growing market for branded budget accommodation, as it is still well behind matured markets such as the USA and France. In response to this growing opportunity, our growth strategy remains in the forefront of our new business plan.”
The new Travelodge room includes the following new features: a new, upgraded luxury king size bed which is deemed in the industry as the ‘Rolls Royce’ of beds and used predominately by luxury hotels worldwide. The bed is produced by royal warrant holders Sleepeeze Ltd who are renowned internationally for their experience and craftsmanship in producing the most luxurious beds that money can buy. The company established 80 years ago uses cutting edge technology to create state-of-the-art pocket spring mattresses that help attain a good quality night’s sleep. The new Travelodge bed has an 800 pocket sprung mattress.
For further comfort, the bed is dressed with a quilted mattress topper and bounce-back duvet and pillows. A new addition to the bedding is a stylish swoosh stripes runner to help create a gift wrap feel to the bed.
The bed also features a unique benefit of housing two space saving comfy truckle beds within its base. When the beds are in use the base can be used to store luggage, providing extra space in the room. The truckle beds have been designed to replace the traditional sofa bed and provide an enhanced service for families staying in the room.
To help create a warm and cosy ambiance in the new room so that its customers obtain a good quality night’s sleep, Travelodge worked with a chromotherapy expert and has introduced a sleep inducing colour palette to the room’s décor.
The new Travelodge room feature wall has been painted a tranquil blue, as research shows our body clock is programmed to relate the colour blue to the hours of darkness. So when we look at the colour blue, our metabolism slows down, making us feel relaxed and sleepy.
The colour also has the effect of making a room look larger and more light and airy. The remaining walls have been painted a calming cream colour as this shade embodies the quality of gentle morning sunlight that helps you to wake up feeling refreshed and alert.
To complement the colour scheme swoosh stripes in the colours of red, grey and blue have been incorporated into the room décor via the curtains and bed runner. Vertical stripes have been chosen due to their illusion of making a room look taller and to create a more restful and contemporary atmosphere.
Other additions to the new room include a stylish white contemporary en-suite bathroom with a power shower, stain & water resistant carpet in a dark shade of blue, a larger desk area, new reading lights and a phone charging socket built into the bed frame. The room also includes artwork above the bed. This is an abstract design featuring relaxing sparkles and shades of blue, which customers found very pleasing to the eye and restful
All new hotels being opened this year will incorporate this new room design. In addition phase one of the £57 million refurbishment programme which starts in spring this year will include a refit project to transform Travelodge’s flagship and most popular city centre hotel rooms with the new design. By autumn 2014, over 80% of Travelodge’s estate will incorporate the new room design.
Frances Whitley, Travelodge in-house interior designer said: “It has been great working with our customers to design a purpose built room for them. Interestingly a key learning we learnt were customers now want a high level of coordination between colours, shades, patterns and features. They are no longer happy with everything being the same colour. Tastes are also moving away from dark shades, today hotel users want a clean, fresh and bright colour scheme which they find uplifting and energising upon walking up from a good night’s sleep. The number one requirement from our customers was a good quality luxurious bed. Interestingly customers fed back that the addition of a coordinated runner on the bed lent a sense of freshness and suggested that the bed had been carefully prepared and wrapped for them.”
Travelodge is also currently working with its customers to redesign its restaurants and public areas.
