Travelodge jumps into bed with posh supermarket
Budget hotelier Travelodge has entered into a £27m deal with upscale supermarket chain Waitrose to open three mixed-use developments next year.
The pair will open hotels with ground-floor supermarkets in Aylesbury (Buckinghamshire), Sidcup (Kent) and in Vauxhall (London) in the second half of 2012.
Travelodge is negotiating a further 25 deals with major supermarket chains, which will create 520 new hotel jobs.
So far this year, Travelodge has opened a site with Tesco (London Cricklewood) and Morrisons (Manchester Salford Quays).
CEO Guy Parsons said: “We are very excited to be co-developing with Waitrose, one of the UK’s leading supermarket brands. Having a Travelodge and Waitrose on site offers an attractive proposition for consumers, developers and investors."
Travelodge said hotels with ground-floor supermarkets were easy to build. "They are also able to attract finance relatively easily, even in this difficult environment," said Parsons.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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