Travelodge reports record quarter driven by boom in budget bookings

Travelodge has reported a record third quarter driven by a surge in bookings from people seeking budget stays.

The chain, which operates 595 hotels in the UK, Ireland and Spain, said the cost of living crisis had seen a rise in people looking to take advantage of its cheaper prices.

Customers rushed to book rooms ahead of the Queen's funeral in September, when Travelodge said its hotels in central London and Windsor were "sold out".

By 30 September Travelodge had already surpassed its full-year results reported in 2019 before the pandemic hit.

It announced underlying earnings of £93.8m at the end of the quarter, up from £87m a year ago, and total revenues jumped 33.5% to £278.6m.

Earnings for the first nine months of the year hit £164.4m, up from £102.2m in 2019 and four times that recorded at the same point in 2021.

RevPAR was up 20.8% on 2019 levels at £51.80 while occupancy rose 0.7 points to 81.5%.

Jo Boydell, chief executive of Travelodge, said: "Our purpose is to provide affordable travel for everyone and amid the growing cost of living pressures, we have seen that more customers are choosing to stay with us."

The chain reported that revenue for the period from 1 October 2022 to 16 November 2022 was approximately 35% ahead of 2019 levels.

Travelodge said it was "not immune" to supply chain pressures and had seen price increases impact its laundry and food and beverage operations.

The chain expects its energy costs to increase from April 2023 but said the impact of this remained unclear.

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