Premium rooms help drive sales at Travelodge

Budget hotel chain Travelodge saw a 6% sales spike for the first half of the year, driven by its decision to offer more upscaled options to guests.

Revenue for the six months to 30 June 2019 reached £337.3m, up from £318.2m year on year.

The company said its performance was fuelled by a strong contribution from recently opened hotels, including 10 that launched during the reporting period.

It also benefited from the success of its new ‘SuperRooms’ premium economy concept, which today accounts for almost 5% of total sales after just two years of operation.

Like-for-like revenue per available room (revpar) increased by 0.6% year on year to £38.78 (2018: £38.57) while occupancy increased by 2.4 points to 77.9%.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was £44.7m, up £1.1m on the prior year.

Peter Gowers, Travelodge chief executive, commented: “Against the backdrop of Brexit uncertainty and a slowing economy, there are clearly some challenging trends to deal with.

"At Travelodge we’re focused on what we can do, which is deliver value to our customers. We’ve been steadily investing to modernise our hotels, adding SuperRooms across the country and launching the new Travelodge Plus format to offer that little bit more choice, while maintaining low prices to stay true to our roots.

“With all the political and economic uncertainty, we naturally remain cautious about the short-term outlook. But in the longer-term, the fundamentals for low-cost hotels remain good, and with our clear brand proposition and strong development pipeline, we are well positioned for the future.”