Travelodge revenue rises to £486m in first half of 2024

The hotel brand, which has two hotels in Swindon and six in Wiltshire, said the 1.7 per cent rise reflected a resilient customer demand from its range of both leisure and business customers.

The revenue growth was impacted by investments including an accelerated refit programme, a multi-channel advertising campaign and ongoing IT upgrades to improve customer experiences.

This includes the recent launch of a new mobile app with enhanced features, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, biometric login, and personalised experiences.

Travelodge chief executive, Jo Boydell, said: "Travelodge Group delivered a first-half performance in line with expectations, with our financial performance reflecting our continued investment in the business to drive growth and quality.

Travelodge chief executive, Jo Boydell (Image: Sonja Horsman)

"We remain focused on expanding and optimising our portfolio of increasingly well-invested, well-located hotels."

The business has acquired 66 UK Travelodge-branded hotels and opened five new hotels so far this year.

Ms Boydell continued: "Spain remains a key growth market for Travelodge, with the acquisition of five hotels from Louvre Group, agreement to acquire one further hotel and deals signed for three new builds in San Sebastian, Cadiz and Alicante.

“UK revenues in the third quarter to date are modestly below 2023 levels but we were encouraged by improving trends during July, with UK revenues ahead of 2023 in that month.

"Forward bookings are also positive, with booked revenue to the end of the year ahead of 2023 levels at this point, driven by strong event demand."

Financial performance in the first half of the year reflect the company's investments, as well as slightly softer market demand due to fewer events, the weather and strikes, particularly in London, and industry-wide cost pressures.

Record-breaking days during events including the British Open Golf and Farnborough Airshow boosted revenue, although the weather impacted others such as Wimbledon.

However, leisure guests used Travelodge as a base for many purposes, including stadium tours, such as Take That, Pink and the first UK dates of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, and sporting events including Cheltenham Festival, the Six Nations Rugby, the Grand National, Royal Ascot and the marathons in London and Edinburgh.

Looking forward, Travelodge expects to benefit from a continued staycation demand and evolving work patterns favouring office time and face-to-face meetings and events.

It said it is well positioned, continues to invest to drive growth and quality and is confident in the long-term prospects for budget hotels