Earlier this month, Travelodge, the UK's first budget hotel chain has revealed the top35 most interesting and bizarre requests that the company's 575 UK hotels teams have received during the last 12 months. With the company welcoming millions of business and leisure customers annually, the range of requests varies across the regions and seasonally. This year the hotel teams have even encountered a few interesting requests around social distancing.

The Travelodge hotel teams across the length and breadth of the UK receive thousands of interesting requests throughout the year and detailed below are some of the more fascinating requests received during the last 12 months.

  • Can you look after 200 butterflies in your store room cooler for my wedding tomorrow?
  • Can you build a balloon bed as a surprise for my daughter's 21st birthday?
  • Can you get me a gift bag full of soil from Anfield as a surprise for my husband?
  • Does Nessie visit Loch Lomond Aquarium?
  • Can you get my grandmother an honorary degree from Oxford University for her 85th birthday?
  • Can you add a spare bed in our room for my son's imaginary friend Frank and greet Frank at check-in too?
  • Can you get drunk if you breathe in Scotch Mist?
  • Can you serenade my girlfriend at breakfast and ask her to marry me?
  • Can you stop the seagulls from squealing, they are keeping me awake?
  • Can you tell me a good UFO hotspot in Bonnybridge?
  • Do you have a face mask that will stop my husband from snoring?
  • What is the best time to see Morag in Loch Morar?

With social distancing dominating our lives in 2020, interestingly Travelodge hotel teams have also experienced a range of customer requests around this requirement. This included one customer ringing York Layerthorpe Travelodge ahead of his booking and asking the receptionist to book him two rooms and for her to say at check-in due to social distancing rules, the couple would have to sleep in separate rooms as his wife snores and he was desperate for a good night's sleep.

One female customer asked the hotel team at Lincoln City Centre Travelodge to sing and record Happy Birthday into her phone so that she could play the recording every time she washed her hands to be COVID Safe.

One business customer staying at Leeds Central Travelodge was so taken by the hotel's 5ft TravelodgeProtect+ COVID-19 safety programme stand that he asked if he could use it as a back drop for all of his business zoom calls throughout his stay. Whilst an entrepreneur staying at Sunderland Travelodge asked the hotel team if they could get a local printer to print his company logo onto 1,000 face masks.

Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said: "Annually we welcome millions of customers from all corners of the UK at our 575 hotels which are dotted across the country. Throughout the year, our hotel teams receive thousands of interesting requests from business and leisure guests. Where possible, our hotel teams will go above and beyond to help customers as they relish a good challenge. Interestingly the requests change regionally, seasonally and this year we have even received interesting requests around social distancing. However, there are some requests beyond their control such as: stopping the seagulls from squealing, switching off the Severn Bridge fog horn, identifying UFO hotspots and getting a grandmother a honorary degree from Oxford University."

With a rising number of business travellers staying at Travelodge hotels throughout the country, the company's hotels teams have also received a range of query requests from business travellers. Detailed below are some of the bizarre requests that Travelodge hotel teams have received from its business customers during the past 12 months:

  • Can you wake me up 45 minutes before sun rise as I need to open up my chakras with an empowering mediation?
  • Can I borrow your 5ft TravelodgeProtect+ COVID-19 social distance stand as a backdrop for my business zoom calls throughout my stay?
  • Can I have half a pillow as it helps with my creative thinking?
  • Can you babysit my work phone today and take messages whilst I meet clients?
  • Can you be a host on my Zoom meeting calls today?
  • Can you be a translator on my business call to India?
  • Can you do a 30 minute plank with me and listen to a TED Talk?
  • Can you place a bed on the beach for a session of blue sky thinking?
  • Can you write 500 name cards for an awards dinner tonight?
  • Can you arrange for a printer to print my logo onto 1,000 face masks

Listed below are the top 35 fascinating requests, Travelodge hotel teams have received from customers during the last 12 months.

— Source: Travelodge— Source: Travelodge
— Source: Travelodge

About Travelodge

Founded in 1985, Travelodge is Britain's very first budget hotel chain and today is one of the largest budget hotel chains in the UK, with a portfolio of nearly 600 hotels and over 46,000 bedrooms across the UK, Ireland and Spain.

Welcoming over 22 million guests annually, the majority of Travelodge hotels are located in major cities, towns and holiday hotspots as well as by airports and key business hubs. With 90% of its hotels rated 4* or above on TripAdvisor, Travelodge is proud to offer a diverse customer base a good value experience – whether travelling for business or leisure. In 2023 approximately 50% of rooms were sold for less than £60.

In 2004, Travelodge was the first UK budget hotel brand to launch in Spain when it opened its first hotel in Madrid, closely followed by its first in Barcelona. Over the following years three further hotels were opened in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. In October last year the sixth hotel in Spain was opened – Madrid Coslada Aeropuerto Travelodge.

Our Spanish Travelodge hotels are a great base for both business and leisure guests, offering a wide range of room types, a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu at affordable prices as well as Wifi for all guests. All hotels are also pet-friendly.

For further information visit travelodge.co.uk or the Travelodge Hotels Limited LinkedIn page.