Travelodge buoyed by room upgrades amid cost pressures

Budget hotels group Travelodge on Monday said business travellers checking into more premium rooms helped boost sales during a tough period.

The accommodation firm, which has been grappling with “significant cost pressures”, cheered a spike in demand for rooms that can cost as much as £20 more per night than normal ones.

Those are “superooms”, which offer guests added amenities in their rooms such as coffee-pod machines, greater refreshment choices and ironing boards. There is also Travelodge Plus accommodation in hotels that have plenty of USB power points and booths for meetings.

Sales in the six months to June at Travelodge, which has 584 hotels, increased 6% to £337.3 million, with revenue per room up 0.6% to £38.78.

Occupancy levels edged up to 77.9% from 75.5% and adjusted underlying profits rose £1.1 million to £44.7 million.

Boss Peter Gowers said Travelodge, owned by GoldenTree Asset Management, Avenue Capital and Goldman Sachs, “outperformed despite challenging conditions”.

Like rivals, the firm faces higher bills for business rates and wages. Hotel operators have also warned some would-be guests are holding off on bookings until there are more details on Britain’s departure from the EU.

Owing to the higher costs and political uncertainty, Travelodge said it remain cautious on the short-term outlook.