Travelodge Opens Its 500th Hotel at Stratford & Announces London Expansion Programme of 184 New Hotels

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - March 4, 2012) - Today, at the opening of its 500th hotel in Stratford London, the city's biggest hotelier, Travelodge, has announced that it's seeking to open a further 184 hotels across the capital by 2025. With a requirement for at least one hotel in each of the London boroughs, Travelodge is seeking to develop 7,820,400 sq ft - the largest requirement of any business in London. This equates to:

• Six Shards, which when open will be the largest building in Europe*
• Nine O2 Arenas**
• Nine Buckingham Palaces***
• Forty-Two Tesco Extras****

These 184 new hotel openings will create around 5,000 new jobs across London and ten per cent of these positions will be recruited via JuMP - Travelodge's Junior Management Apprenticeship Programme.

This morning, Tourism Minister, John Penrose MP, officially opened London Stratford Travelodge, the budget chain's 500^th hotel. The 188-room modular build property which is located a few minutes' walk away from the Olympic Stadium is a £15.5 million investment and has created 30 new jobs within the community.

Guy Parsons, Travelodge Chief Executive said: "To open our 500th Travelodge hotel yards from the entrance to the Olympic Stadium is a milestone that everyone in the company is extremely proud of. Travelodge has come a long way since it opened its first hotel back in 1985 on the A38 in Barton-Under-Needwood."

"In 2010, at the opening of our 400^th hotel, we said that we would be the biggest hotelier in London in time for the 2012 Olympics and true to our word we have achieved this target. When the Games start on the 27^th July 2012, we will have 53 hotels in the capital but our London growth story is only just beginning."

"London is very unique city. It is a metropolis made up of 32 boroughs and the City of London. Each has its own economy, culture, identity and history. In central London the quality, budget hotel market has a good presence. However, in flourishing boroughs where regeneration is a big priority such as Barnet, Ealing, Lewisham or Wandsworth it's non existent and we now want to focus on these growth hotspots."

"Our London expansion programme will create around 5,000 jobs across the capital which will certainly help to ensure that the whole of London's economy benefits from our expansion."

Hotel Industry Consultant Melvin Gold said: "In our most recent UK hotel study, findings revealed that just 17.1% of hotel rooms in London were in the branded budget category compared to more than 28% in other large UK cities such as: Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow.

"This emphasises the further need for branded budget accommodation in the capital. Visitors to the city for the Games are typically seeking quality, value for money accommodation, as are the millions of visitors pouring into the city annually during 'normal' times."

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: "I salute Travelodge for this ringing endorsement of our great city in one of the greatest years in its history. The jobs and opportunities this will bring will be warmly welcome in tough economic times and I'm grateful to all the companies who play their part like this in London."

John Penrose MP, Minister for Tourism and Heritage said: "To reach the milestone of 500 hotels is a fantastic achievement and I congratulate Travelodge on reaching it."

"Tourism is one of the largest industries in the UK and it is vital that we offer a broad spectrum of hotel provision. The budget sector is really growing in Britain and I look forward to opening Travelodge's 600th in a couple of years' time!"

Travelodge currently has 47 hotels and 6,531 rooms in the capital and is on target to open a further six hotels in London before the Olympic Games start. Locations include: Teddington, Excel Centre, Sidcup, Enfield, Woolwich and Balham. These openings will boost Travelodge's London portfolio to 53 hotels and 7,201 rooms.

There are also a further three Travelodge hotel openings scheduled after the Olympic Games which include the following locations: Clapham, Bromley and Bethnal Green.

Travelodge will end the year with 56 hotels and 7,508 rooms in the capital.

Notes to Editors:

* The Sq Ft of the Shard is 1,200,000 sq ft

** The Sq Ft of the O2 Arena in Greenwich is 865,687 sq ft

*** Buckingham Palace is 830,000 sq ft

**** The largest Tesco Extra in the country is in Walkden, totaling 185,000 sq ft

Travelodge requirement in each of the London boroughs is:

Location	Borough	Rooms
Dagenham	Barking and Dagenham	80
Barnet	Barnet	80
Brent Cross	Barnet	200
Golders Green	Barnet	100
Hendon	Barnet	80
Mill Hill	Barnet	80
Belvedere	Bexley	60
Bexley	Bexley	60
Bexleyheath	Bexley	90
Harlesden	Brent	60
Kensal Rise	Brent	60
Kilburn	Brent	60
Kinsbury/Kenton	Brent	60
Wembley Arena	Brent	40
Beckenham	Bromley	60
Biggin Hill	Bromley	60
Bromley South	Bromley	100
Chiselhurst	Bromley	60
Hayes	Bromley	80
Orpington	Bromley	100
Bloomsbury	Camden	300
Covent Garden/Holborn	Camden	300
Euston	Camden	300
Midtown	Camden	300
St Pancras	Camden	200
Camden	Camden	200
Finchley Road/Swiss Cottage	Camden	120
Gospel Oak/Belsize Park	Camden	80
Hampstead	Camden	120
Kentish Town	Camden	80
West Hampstead	Camden	120
Bank	City	200
Barbican	City	200
Blackfriars	City	250
Cannon Street	City	200
City of London	City	450
City of London (South)	City	450
Fenchurch Street	City	200
Liverpool Street	City	200
Monument	City	200
Coulsdon	Croydon	70
Norbury	Croydon	80
Crystal Palace	Croydon	80
Purley	Croydon	60
Thornton Heath	Croydon	80
Acton	Ealing	120
Hanwell	Ealing	60
Northolt	Ealing	80
South Ealing	Ealing	60
Southall	Ealing	80
Cockfosters	Enfield	80
Enfield Central	Enfield	60
North Circular	Enfield	100
Palmers Green	Enfield	80
Southgate	Enfield	80
Abbey Wood	Greenwich	60
Blackheath	Greenwich	80
Charlton	Greenwich	120
Eltham	Greenwich	120
Greenwich	Greenwich	200
Kidbrooke	Greenwich	60
Plumstead	Greenwich	40
Hackney/Dalston	Hackney	100
Hoxton	Hackney	100
London Fields	Hackney	40
Old Street	Hackney	200
Shoreditch	Hackney	200
Stoke Newington/Stamford	Hackney	100
Fulham	Hammersmith & Fulham	100
Parsons Green	Hammersmith & Fulham	100
Hammersmith	Hammersmith & Fulham	200
Olympia	Hammersmith & Fulham	200
Shepherd's Bush	Hammersmith & Fulham	200
Whice City/Wood Lane	Hammersmith & Fulham	120
Crouch End	Haringey	80
Highgate Tube	Haringey	60
Tottenham	Haringey	100
Wood Green/Muswell Hill	Haringey	80
Harrow	Harrow	200
Hatch End	Harrow	80
Pinner	Harrow	80
South Harrow	Harrow	80
Stanmore	Harrow	80
Gallows Corner	Havering	40
Upminster	Havering	80
Northwood	Hillingdon	80
Ruislip	Hillingdon	80
Stockley Park	Hillingdon	150
Uxbridge	Hillingdon	80
A40/Hillingdon	Hillingdon	100
Bedfont	Hounslow	60
Brentford (A4)	Hounslow	100
Chiswick A4	Hounslow	100
Chiswick Town Centre	Hounslow	100
Isleworth	Hounslow	80
Osterley (A4)	Hounslow	80
Clerkenwell	Islington	200
Archway Tube	Islington	150
Cannonbury	Islington	80
Highbury	Islington	80
Holloway Tube	Islington	150
Islington	Islington	200
Tufnell Park Tube	Islington	60
Brompton	Kensington & Chelsea	250
Chelsea	Kensington & Chelsea	100
Earls Court	Kensington & Chelsea	200
Kensington	Kensington & Chelsea	250
Knightsbridge	Kensington & Chelsea	200
Ladbroke Grove	Kensington & Chelsea	100
Notting Hill	Kensington & Chelsea	150
Chessington	Kingston Upon Thames	80
New Malden	Kingston Upon Thames	100
Surbiton	Kingston Upon Thames	80
Oval/Kennington	Lambeth	150
Southbank	Lambeth	400
Waterloo	Lambeth	300
Brixton	Lambeth	150
Clapham Junction/St John's Hill	Lambeth	200
Clapham Old Town/Lavender Hill	Lambeth	100
Herne Hill	Lambeth	80
Stockwell	Lambeth	120
Streatham	Lambeth	120
Tulse Hill	Lambeth	80
West Norwood	Lambeth	70
Catford	Lewisham	120
Forest Hill	Lewisham	80
Lewisham	Lewisham	120
New Cross/Brockley	Lewisham	60
Lewisham East	Lewisham	80
Colliers Wood	Merton	90
Mitcham	Merton	90
Morden	Merton	90
Wimbledon Centre	Merton	150
Wimbledon Village	Merton	40
Wimbledon Park	Merton	110
Olympic Park/A12	Newham	200
Plaistow Tube	Newham	80
Hainault	Redbridge	40
Woodford/Woodford Green	Redbridge	80
Barnes	Richmond Upon Thames	80
East Sheen	Richmond Upon Thames	80
Hampton Court	Richmond Upon Thames	100
Kew	Richmond Upon Thames	80
Mortlake	Richmond Upon Thames	80
Richmond	Richmond Upon Thames	200
Bermondsey	Southwark	250
Borough	Southwark	200
Canada Water	Southwark	100
Elephant and Castle	Southwark	200
London Bridge	Southwark	300
Old Kent Road	Southwark	100
Camberwell	Southwark	80
Dulwich	Southwark	80
East Dulwich	Southwark	80
Peckham Rye	Southwark	80
Carshalton	Sutton	60
Tower Hill	Tower Hamlets	150
Canary Wharf	Tower Hamlets	300
Limehouse	Tower Hamlets	100
Mile End	Tower Hamlets	100
Shadwell/Wapping	Tower Hamlets	100
Spitalfields	Tower Hamlets	120
Whitechapel	Tower Hamlets	200
Chingford	Waltham Forest	120
Leyton	Waltham Forest	80
Battersea Park	Wandsworth	100
Nine Elms Lane	Wandsworth	100
Putney	Wandsworth	150
Roehampton	Wandsworth	80
Southfields/Earlsfield	Wandsworth	100
Tibbet's Corner	Wandsworth	100
Wandsworth Town	Wandsworth	120
Balham	Wandsworth	90
Battersea Old Town	Wandsworth	80
Tooting Broadway	Wandsworth	40
Clapham Common	Wandsworth/Lambeth	150
Albert Embankment	Westminster	200
Bayswater	Westminster	350
Buckingham Palace	Westminster	200
Charing Cross	Westminster	400
Paddington	Westminster	400
Victoria	Westminster	400
West End	Westminster	600