UK’s fastest growing hotel company, Travelodge, has announced it will be opening 41 hotels (3610 rooms) this year and creating 1,000 new jobs across the UK.

These new properties, at an investment of £246 million, will boost the company’s estate to 537 hotels and over 39,000 rooms.

Eleven of the new Travelodges opening this year are located in London - further cementing the company’s position as the biggest hotelier in the capital. These 41 new hotel openings will create 880 new jobs across the country. In addition to these positions, Travelodge is also creating a further 120 new apprenticeship places on its successful Junior Management Programme (JuMP), which was launched last year. 

The bespoke scheme was developed to support Travelodge’s aggressive growth strategy and to help Britain’s unemployed youngsters back into work. It offers school leavers an alternative career choice to university. The fast-track management programme provides a real job, with the opportunity of on-the-job training throughout the business which is combined with further education, the opportunity to earn up to £30,000 and to become a hotel manager in three years, in stark contrast to a university education, which incurs an average debt of over £53,000* followed by the prospect of an overcrowded jobs market.

Guy Parsons, Travelodge Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to be opening even more new hotels and creating even more new jobs this year compared to 2011. Despite the ongoing tough economic climate, Travelodge is continuing to open hotels at a faster rate than anyone else and create much needed jobs, which is exactly what the British economy needs right now.

“The demand for good quality budget accommodation is growing at such pace across the country that we have added 146 new UK locations to our target requirements list. Therefore we can build more hotels in the locations where consumers need them. With our ability to be flexible and innovative in terms of the development schemes we can undertake, we are in a very strong position to achieve our growth target of having 1,000 hotels by 2020.”

The ability of Travelodge to capitalise on the opportunities provided by its own strong trading position is greatly helped by its flexible development model. Last year, Travelodge announced its ‘Metrolodge’ strategy, which will see it taking smaller properties in sought-after locations and office buildings across the UK. Travelodge’s success reflects the demand for budget hotels in prime central areas and historic UK holiday sites to support the growing Staycation trend.