Hotel chain, Travelodge, has reached £1bn sales for the first time in its history.

Sales were up 13.7% to £1.04bn, as reported by The Times.

The low-cost chain, which has hotels in Gloucester, Cheltenham, Cirencester, Tewkesbury and Stonehouse, said it has seen strong demand from both business and leisure customers.

Sales were boosted by big events like Eurovision and Wimbledon, as well as a rise in visits to friends and family.

Room prices during the year started at £35, with half of the chain's rooms sold for less than £60.

Travelodge spent £40m on updating rooms in 2023 and plans to spend almost double that in 2024.

A newly formed property holding group (Travelodge PropCo Group) recently completed the acquisition of 66 Travelodge-branded hotels on a freehold and long leasehold basis from Travelodge's largest landlord, LXi REIT plc, for a purchase price of £210 million.

The chain opened just four new hotels last year, with plans to open six hotels this year. It aims to get back to opening 15 to 20 hotels a year in the coming years, with 300 target locations identified across the UK.

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