Travelodge has announced plans to open 17 new hotels this year in a move that will create 360 new jobs.
Bosses at the hotel chain hope the new sites will be open in time for the summer holidays, with overnight stays expected to be allowed from May 17.
Brits can currently only book into a hotel stay for work, education or other legally permitted reasons, under the latest lockdown rules.
Travelodge says the £175million expansion will increase its number of locations to 597 in the UK, Ireland and Spain.
New sites will be developed with cash from third party investors and will also include three more “higher-end” Travelodge PLUS hotels.
Travelodge PLUS is described as a posher version of standard Travelodge hotels with a “budget chic” format.
There are 14 of these types of hotel currently available since launching in 2018, with the latest two opening today in London Mile End and Portsmouth.
Bosses also plan to offer more premium SuperRooms as part of the investment, with 2,000 across 58 hotels.
The latest expansion comes after the hospitality industry was forced to shut for large parts of last year due to the coronavirus crisis.
Travelodge hotels have remained open through the pandemic for frontline workers.
To mark the new openings, Travelodge says it has today released some two million rooms costing £29 or less to entice Brits back to their hotels.
Craig Bonnar, Travelodge chief executive, said: "After a challenging 12 months, today's announcement demonstrates the strength in the Travelodge brand and is a key step forward as we emerge out of lockdown."
The 17 Travelodge hotels opening this year:
- Boston (Lincolnshire)
- Bristol Avonmouth
- Bristol Emersons Green
- Farringdon (Oxfordshire)
- Kendal (Lake District)
- Leicester city centre
- London Elephant & Castle (Travelodge Plus)
- London Manor House (Travelodge Plus)
- London Peckham
- Mansfield
- Newark-on-Trent
- Poole
- Rochdale
- Sandwich
- St Albans (Travelodge Plus)
- Walton-on-Thames
- Witney
