Budget hotel rivals hit the capital

Published on Monday 16 November 2009 20:20

EDINBURGH yesterday became a key battleground in the fight for the cost-conscious traveller as Britain's two biggest budget hotel operators unveiled plans for sites in the Scottish capital.

Travelodge will open a further two hotels in the city, taking its total to 11, while rival Premier Inn announced it had bought a site at Edinburgh Park, with a view to building a 120-bed hotel.

Under plans unveiled yesterday, Travelodge will open a total of ten hotels throughout the UK, creating 250 jobs and adding a further 857 rooms to its 27,000-bed portfolio.

The expansion marks a 47 million investment for the chain, which was founded in 1985 and is owned by Dubai International Capital.

The chain employs 5,500 staff at its 385 hotels in the UK, Ireland and Spain, and last year had 6.5 million customers.

Paul Harvey, Travelodge's managing director for development, said: "With 60 (contract] exchanges announced in 2009, we have now signed more hotels this year than ever before.

"Whilst the property market is still challenging we have been able to add some fantastic sites to our estate.

"With this selection of hotels, we have managed to enter new towns for the first time and also build on our strength in the major cities.

"We are now the biggest hotel brand in Edinburgh, having doubled our room stock in the city in the past 24 months, and now operate eight sites in Manchester."

Other locations for new hotels include High Wycombe, Ealing, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Wadebridge, Cornwall.

Travelodge yesterday confirmed it is converting 3 Waterloo Place in Edinburgh from offices into a 93-room hotel at a cost of 8m, creating 25 full- and part-time jobs. The hotel is due to open next summer.

The chain is also buying the 43-room Hanover Hotel on Rose Street, which will be converted at a cost of 2.9m and which will employ at least ten staff.

Last week, the company officially opened its 97-room hotel at Edinburgh airport, which employs 25 people and was built at a cost of 3m. The firm had previously announced plans for a hotel at the city's Cameron Toll and will have 11 hotels in Edinburgh by the summer.

Meanwhile, Premier Inn – the budget hotel chain owned by Whitbread – revealed that it had bought a two-acre site at Edinburgh Park for 2m.

Subject to planning permission, the firm plans to build a 120-room hotel opposite the park's railway station and near its proposed tram stop.

Kevin Murray, acquisitions manager for Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants, said: "Securing this site means we can offer the vibrant business community on the park quality accommodation at an attractive price."

Premier Inn already has seven hotels in Edinburgh and plans to build another at the airport.