Rivals split over lodge pricing
By Andrew Sangster
Whitbread is to stick with its uniform pricing policy for its Travel Inn lodge hotels, despite rival Granada's decision to split tariffs at its Travelodge chain.
Last Monday, Granada increased its rates at Travelodge to either £39.95 or £42.95 depending on location, up from the previous single rate of £36.50. But Whitbread plans to maintain its uniform rate of £35.50.
Nick Kellock, Travel Inn director, told Caterer there were no plans to increase prices or split tariffs. "We attach a lot of importance to a single national tariff," he added.
The total number of Travel Inns currently stands at 114 following a rash of openings since February. New lodges are now trading at: Crewe; Hartlepool, Cleveland; Livingston, Lothian; Camberley, Surrey; Birmingham; Ipswich (pictured); Leeds; Weston-super-Mare, Avon; and Didcot, Oxfordshire.
Mr Kellock said Whitbread was preparing to open Travel Inns at 15 further locations in the next few months, with openings planned at: Arundel in West Sussex; Cardiff; Heald Green in Greater Manchester; Stirling; Berkswell and Oldbury, both in the West Midlands; Dunstable in Bedfordshire and Blackpool. A 128-bedroom city centre site is due to open in Edinburgh in mid-June.
Other city lodges are also in the pipeline. An 80-bedroom lodge will open in Newcastle this autumn and a site is being sought in Glasgow.
Whitbread is also set to launch a separate lodge brand in London next year, although its name has yet to be confirmed. Lodges in Putney and Euston are scheduled to open in the spring of 1997 with the planned 318-bedroom property at County Hall due to open its doors next year.
- The Greenalls Group is to open its 41st Premier Lodge on 22 April. The £1.5m development is a 30-bedroom hotel next to the Gynsills pub in Leicester. Tariffs at Premier Lodge were increased at the end of last year to £41.50 from Monday to Thursday, and £34.50 from Friday to Sunday.
