Travelodge's claim to be largest hotel operator in London challenged by Premier Inn's numbers
Travelodge said that it intends to hit its target of being the largest hotel group in London by the start of the Olympic Games following the opening of four properties in the capital this month.
The openings, at a combined cost of £36m, in Balham, Enfield, ExCel and Woolwich, will take the total number of Travelodge hotels in the capital to 54 hotels with 7,024 rooms.
Travelodge claimed this would make it the biggest hotel chain within the 33 London boroughs. Its rival Premier Inn also lays claim to being London's biggest hotelier, its measure is slightly different, with 60 hotels and just under 8,000 rooms within the M25.
Meanwhile, Hilton Worldwide - which is set to launch the 361-bedroom Hilton London Wembley later this month - appears to have more bedrooms in London than both the two budget groups with in excess of 10,000 rooms across 31 hotels, although the group includes five airport hotels within its figures.
Grant Hearn, chief executive of Travelodge, said that the growth of Travelodge in the capital has not just been based around the Olympics, having long recognised that London has a shortage of good quality, affordable hotel rooms, in both the centre and the suburbs.
"We will be opening a further four hotels in London after the Games and five more next year," he said. "We are also actively looking for a further 50 sites across the capital to ensure that we can meet the clear demand there is for affordable hotel rooms."
A recent report by hotel industry analyst Melvin Gold identified that just 17% of the hotel supply in London is provided by the branded budget sector, compared to over 28% in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow.
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By Janet Harmer
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