Travelodge Opens Seven Hotels This Month-Four Being in London Making the Hotel Chain the Capital's Largest Hotel Brand at the Olympics

These four new hotels have created 117 jobs across London and all new recruits have been hired from the long term unemployed. Travelodge currently employs 1,400 staff across the capital.

Being the largest hotelier now, does not mean that Travelodge will ease up on its development plans in the capital. A further four hotels are set to open after the Olympics with five scheduled to open in 2013, providing a total of 1,015 additional rooms. Travelodge's development team has also identified another 50 locations across London that would be suitable for a new hotel.

The reason for the expansion by Travelodge is that there is an under capacity of budget hotel rooms in London. A recent report by hotel industry analyst Melvin Gold has identified that in the capital just 17% of the hotel supply is provided by the branded budget sector, compared to over 28% in UK cities such as: Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow.

Grant Hearn, Chief Executive of Travelodge Hotels, said: "To be London's largest hotel brand at the start of the Olympics is an achievement that everyone in the business is proud of. Our growth strategy for the capital is not however based around the Olympics. We have long recognised that London has a shortage of good quality, affordable hotel rooms, not just in the centre but also in the suburbs.

"We will be opening a further four hotels in London after the Games and five more next year. We are also actively looking for a further fifty sites across the capital to ensure that we can meet the clear demand there is for affordable hotel rooms."

As well as the four hotels in London, Travelodge is also opening hotels in July at Hemel Hempstead, Cheshire Oaks and Tamworth. These openings will create 60 new jobs.

To help cash strapped Britons afford a break in the capital this summer, Travelodge has released over 30,000 rooms across London priced from GBP 25.50 to GBP 95 for the period between 19th June 2012 to 9th September 2012. In addition it has also launched a new summer of sports Bar Cafe menu where customers can enjoy a two course meal and a glass of wine or soft drink for GBP 9.95. For further information visit www.travelodge.co.uk .

Notes to editors:

• The four London hotels that Travelodge are opening in July are located in: Balham, Enfield, ExCel and Woolwich.
• The four hotels that Travelodge will open in London after the Olympic Games are located in: Bethnal Green, Bromley, Clapham and Sidcup.
• In 2013, the hotels that Travelodge will be opening in the capital are located in: Charlton, Hounslow, Raynes Park, Vauxhall and Walthamstow.