Travelodge reveals plan for new hotels at Luton Airport and Dunstable

Travelodge has set its sights on Luton and Dunstable – and has written to Luton and Central Beds councils to say the scheme could bring millions to the area.

The company – which also hopes to build a new hotel in nearby Leighton Buzzard – says its plans could create 75 new jobs.

It is proposing a joint development partnership that the hotel chain claims can act as a catalyst to stimulate regeneration and facilitate further growth.

Travelodge already operates five hotels across Bedfordshire and says it needs a further three hotels near Luton Airport and in Dunstable/Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard.

The letter states Travelodge has played a pivotal role for the last 10 years in supporting local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland by being a key player in their local regeneration and growth programmes, creating jobs, attracting new visitors to the area, boosting the local economy and providing a solid long term income stream for the local authority.

The hotel chain has identified 300 target locations for new hotels across the UK.

In 2022, Travelodge opened six new hotels, three of which were local authority partnerships with two hotels in London at Docklands and Wimbledon and the third hotel in Braintree.

These agreements have unique funding structures, which it says have enabled local authorities to utilise their existing assets, create jobs, generate income, and help to regenerate brownfield land in strategically important locations.

Local authorities have the choice of either retaining ownership of the hotel and receiving an annual rent into the council’s revenue budget or selling the hotel with Travelodge as its operator.

Steve Bennett, Travelodge chief property and development officer said: “In the current climate, local authorities are under extreme pressure to invest in their economy and support regeneration projects. This is why we have written to two local authorities across Bedfordshire to offer our support as we have a requirement to add to our Bedfordshire portfolio with a further three Travelodge hotels across the region.

“Britain is now a nation of budget travellers, with more of us choosing to stay in budget hotels than any other hotel type and this trend is set to grow, which is why we are looking to expand our UK hotel network.”