Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel chain, has delivered its biggest year of development in over a decade. During the year, the company opened 21 properties, adding more than 1,800 rooms to its estate through the combination of four new-builds, in Skegness, Harwich, London Beckenham and London Chiswick, and 17 rebrand acquisition hotels acquired from other brands. Travelodge Skegness Seafront also introduced the group’s first-ever top-floor 85 Bar Café with panoramic sea views.
Travelodge has reinforced its commitment to acquiring freehold properties with 12 of the 21 rebrand acquisitions being freehold or long leasehold. As part of its wider multi-million pound refit strategy, nine of these properties have already been upgraded to Travelodge’s latest premium design, with the remaining scheduled for completion in early 2026.
In London, the group also acquired the long-leasehold interest in two vacant office buildings directly opposite Liverpool Street Station, for conversion, subject to planning permission, into a new Travelodge featuring the brand’s latest design and an 85 Bar Café. This followed a similar office conversion freehold acquisition, 100m from St Paul’s Cathedral, which Travelodge bought unconditionally in 2024, where planning permission has now been applied for.
Sustainability remains central to Travelodge’s development programme. New-build hotels incorporate a wide range of sustainable features, including air source heat pumps, low-energy LED lighting, motion-sensing controls and water-saving technology, as well as innovations such as a living roof at London Chiswick.
Travelodge has also progressed several major development projects. In Cardiff, construction is underway on a new, flagship, 182-room Travelodge, next to the city’s new, 16,500-seat national concert and event arena at Atlantic Wharf. Further new-build developments are underway in Douglas, Travelodge’s first hotel on the Isle of Man, in London Loughton, and a hotel within Watford’s £500 million Riverwell regeneration scheme, adjacent to Watford FC and Watford General Hospital.
Internationally, Travelodge has expanded further in Spain, acquiring the freehold of a site near central Madrid for conversion into a hotel opening in 2027, and securing a freehold hotel in Bilbao, opening in early 2026. These additions will bring its Spanish network to 14 hotels, with around 20 further locations identified as growth priorities.
Travelodge has continued to invest heavily in its existing estate, during 2025, investing in refitting 8,079 of its rooms and upgrading 47 of its restaurants to its latest 85 Bar Cafés specification resulting in approximately two-thirds of hotels and rooms now having been upgraded to its new premium look and feel design. Its multi-million-pound refit programme delivers modern, stylish and comfortable spaces for business and leisure travellers, with many more further upgrades planned for 2026.
Steve Bennett, Travelodge Chief Property Officer, said: “2025 has been a standout year for Travelodge and our most significant period of growth in over a decade. Opening 21 new hotels reflects the strength of demand for high-quality, great-value accommodation in prime, well-connected locations.
Our strategy of sustainable development, a mix of new-builds, office conversions and rebrand acquisitions, is delivering real momentum across the UK and Spain. With a strong pipeline in place and further major projects already underway, we are entering 2026 with confidence and a clear focus on accelerating our expansion.”
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