Travelodge has opened its 79th hotel in the UK capital, located in the southwest London town of Wimbledon.
The 177-room London Wimbledon Central Travelodge is located on Hartfield Road, a few minutes’ walk from Wimbledon rail, Underground and Tramlink station, and is the third new-build hotel to feature the group’s recently launched “budget-luxe” design.
The property also offers Travelodge’s Superrooms concept, as well as the group’s Bar Cafe onsite restaurant.
In a nod to the town’s association with tennis, the group conducted a survey to find its customers’ favourite players who have competed at the Wimbledon tennis championships.
The result is that the hotel’s floors have been named after Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Serena Williams, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Tim Henman.
Travelodge also highlighted the sustainable initiatives at the hotel, including a green roof, Air Source heat pumps, low energy lighting, motion sensing controls, aerated showers and taps, and carpets made from recycled fishing nets and plastic bottles.
The group used the opening of the Wimbledon property to announce that it is searching for a further 127 hotel sites across the capital.
Travelodge currently has a presence in 31 out of 33 London boroughs, and four London properties are under development in Beckenham, Bermondsey, Chiswick and Peckham.
Travelodge currently operates a total of 596 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain – in 2020 the group lost a number of hotels, following a break clause allowing landlords to change brands after the group entered a company voluntary arrangement.
Among the hotels to leave the Travelodge portfolio included nine properties which rebranded as Ibis hotels.
Last month the group published its latest financial figures, showing record results for the third quarter.
Commenting on the news Karen Broughton, Travelodge chief sales and marketing officer, said:
“We are delighted to open our third new-build budget luxe hotel in the heart of Wimbledon. This opening now boosts our portfolio to 596 hotels in the UK, Ireland and Spain. It also kickstarts our London expansion programme with the aim to more than double Travelodge’s presence across the Capital.
“Today, more Britons are choosing to stay in a budget hotel than any other hotel type and due to this rising demand, there is a shortage of good quality and low cost accommodation across London.
“To help fill this growing gap, we are actively searching for a further 127 hotel sites, and we are delighted to announce that we have already secured four hotel deals. These hotels are in development and on schedule to open in 2023.
“This London expansion programme could collectively represent an investment of over £3 billion for third party investors and create around 6,000 new jobs.”
