It started with a single customer paying £19.50 for a room for the night and now – 500 million web visits, 110 million stays and 25 million breakfasts later – Travelodge is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Starting with a team of just 10 in 1985, Travelodge has grown into the UK’s largest independent hotel chain with more than 10,000 employees, 521 hotels across England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Spain. It’s also the biggest hotel brand in London and Edinburgh.
Guests have enjoyed an estimated 880 million hours of sleep, 50 million sausages and 10,950 sunrises and sunsets since Britain’s first budget hotel opened – the ‘Burton A38 (Northbound) Travelodge’ in 1985.
Biggest makeover
The company has also recently undergone the biggest makeover in its history – a £100 million modernisation programme which includes a new upgraded modern room designed by its customers. This programme has seen 65,000 tins of paints used. In addition 38,000 beds have been replaced with new bespoke luxurious king size beds – called the Travelodge Dreamer. Also truckle beds have been introduced for children. All the beds laid end-to-end, would stretch 46 miles.
Peter Gowers, Travelodge Chief Executive said: “This year we celebrate our 30th anniversary. It’s a great time to celebrate the terrific work that has been done over the last three decades and to look forward to the years ahead.
“Today, Travelodge is an iconic British brand, famous for offering unbeatable value and making travel affordable for everyone. The company’s success has only been possible due to the great team work that takes place every day across the business.
“As we look to the next 30 years, the future looks very bright. We are making really great progress on our journey to make Travelodge the favourite hotel for value. We will continue to grow our business, develop our people, open hundreds of hotels in great locations and create thousands of jobs across Britain and beyond.”
Travelodge’s 30 year history in numbers
1 – Travelodge hotels in 1985 (Burton A48 Northbound)
5 – UK Prime Ministers since Travelodge started operating
10 – Eclipses of the moon that have taken place at Travelodge in the time the company has been operating
15 – Hotels that Travelodge will open in 2015 (the company opened just seven hotels in between 1985 and 1986)
18 – Rooms at London Southgate Travelodge, the company’s smallest hotel
19.50 – Starting price in pounds for a Travelodge room in 1985
29 – Starting price in pounds for a Travelodge room in 2015
46 – Miles that all 38,000 Travelodge beds would stretch if laid out end to end
50 – Of the top 100 FTSE companies use Travelodge for their business stays
62 – Hotels that Travelodge operates in London, making it the capital’s biggest hotel company (the first London hotel opened at Heathrow Heston in 1987 and the first Central London hotels opened at Battersea in 1997).
70 – Per cent of Travelodge rooms sold for less than £50 last year
85 – Per cent of Travelodge rooms are booked online at www.travelodge.co.uk (It was just 25% when the website launched in 2001).
89 – Hotels in UK city centre locations (the first city centre Travelodge opened in 1997 in Birmingham Broad Street)
120 – Travelodge hotels in 1995 when the company celebrated its 10thanniversary
125 – Rooms modernised every day during peak times of Travelodge’s £100 million modernisation programme in 2014
252 – Travelodge hotels in 2005, when the company celebrated its 20th anniversary
457 – Rooms at London Covent Garden, the company’s biggest hotel
504 – Number of hotels Travelodge operates in the UK today
521 – Number of hotels Travelodge operates in the UK, Ireland and Spain today
750 – Number of hotels that Travelodge will operate by 2023
1989 – Year Travelodge saw its one millionth stay
1996 – Year Travelodge saw its ten millionth stay
2,000 – New jobs Travelodge will create through 250 new hotel openings in the next eight years
2014 – Year Travelodge saw its 100 millionth stay
4,000 – Number of long term unemployed people who have joined Travelodge, through the company’s partnership with Job Centre Plus
8,900 – Average UK salary in 1985, when Travelodge opened (today it is £26,500)
10,000 – People work for Travelodge today
10,950 – Sunrises and sunsets, Travelodge staff have experienced since 1985
24,364 – People who follow Travelodge on Twitter
38,000 – Travelodge Dreamer beds installed into all Travelodge rooms in 2014
65,000 – Tins of paint used modernising Travelodge hotels as part of its £100 million modernisation programme in 2013 & 2014
220,000 – Books left behind in Travelodge hotels over 30 years
500,000 – Number of people that have checked into the company’s first hotel, Burton A38 Northbound since it opened in 1985
1 million – Man hours that have gone into the company’s £100 million modernisation programme
8 million – Evening meals served in Travelodge Bar Cafes
25 million – Breakfasts served in Travelodge hotels over 30 years
35 million – Business customer stays take place at Travelodge hotels over 30 years
50 million – Sausages eaten by Travelodge customers
100 million – Pounds invested into modernising Travelodge hotels to create a new modern Travelodge brand over the last two years
110 million – Stays at Travelodge over 30 years, based on room stock and occupancy
110 million – Beds made by Travelodge guest room cleaners over 30 years
500 million – Visits made to www.travelodge.co.uk
880 million – Hours of sleep experienced in total by Travelodge customers over 30 years, based on an average of eight hours sleep per night
Pictured top: CEO Peter Gowers with Joan Cable and Judy Harper who have worked at the first Travelodge hotel since day one.
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