Travelodge appoints former Center Parcs CEO Martin Robinson as chairman

Budget hotel group Travelodge has appointed Martin Robinson as its new chairman.

Robinson has spent 17 years at Center Parcs as chief executive of its European business and UK chairman, and 10 years on the boards of Disneyland Paris and Regus. He has also chaired businesses including Holmes Place Health Clubs and Wagamama, and currently chairs the UK business for Burger King and Parkdean Resorts.

He replaces Brian Wallace, who stepped down from the role in September after eight years to focus on his health and sadly passed away.

Chief operating officer Craig Bonnar is currently overseeing the group as interim chief executive following Peter Gowers' announcement last year that he was stepping down.

Stephen Shurrock, Travelodge non-executive board director, said: "We are delighted to announce the appointment of Martin as chairman of Travelodge. Martin brings a broad wealth of hospitality and strategic management experience to the role. The well-established management team and board look forward to working with him to further develop the Travelodge business.

"As travel restrictions start to be relaxed, business and leisure confidence returns and our market recovers, Travelodge is well-positioned to benefit from improvements in trading conditions."

Robinson said: "It is a great honour to join Travelodge, which is not just a British hotel icon but also a model of a great value brand. Its resilience has helped it to navigate through the Covid-19 pandemic. Now is an exciting time to be joining the company as it embarks on the next exciting phase in its development."

"My passion is to unleash the true potential of a brand with a focus on delivering for our customers in a rapidly changing consumer market. I am looking forward to working with the experienced and highly impressive management team to further strengthen and grow the Travelodge business."

Travelodge operates 586 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain.