Travelodge reports ‘record’ results for 2022 and an ‘encouraging’ start to 2023

Budget hotel chain Travelodge has reported record financial results for 2022 and an “encouraging” start to 2023.

For the year to 31 December 2022, compared to 2019, the business reported an increase in total underlying revenue of 25% to £909.9m and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £212.9m, up £83.8m on 2019.

The group also saw relatively flat occupancy of 81.8%, compared to 80.8% in 2019, however average room rate was up 22.5% at £64.31 and revenue per available room was up 23.9% to £52.59.

Travelodge has 45,781 rooms across 595 hotels following the opening of six hotels last year with eight expected to open this year of a target of around 300 new locations across the UK. The company’s ‘budget-luxe’ hotel upgrade programme was “well under way,” said Travelodge, with around 14% of the room estate completed in 2022 and a further 10% expected to be complete by the end of 2023. The group also completed a refinancing in April 2023.

Jo Boydell, Travelodge chief executive, said: “Travelodge delivered an excellent trading performance in 2022, with record profits and revenue growth. The market recovered, with strong demand for events and short staycation breaks throughout the year as well as for essential business travel, and we continued to outperform the midscale and economy segment.

“We pursue a clearly defined UK growth strategy and are targeting new hotels in 300 locations across the country. We continue to evolve our brand offering and we are making good progress in upgrading our estate to the new premium budget-luxe hotel design that we launched last year. This includes our next generation room concept and a new contemporary look for our bar cafés and receptions. Initial customer and commercial feedback for this new design has been positive. We also launched our sustainability strategy, ‘better future’, which sits at the heart of our business.

“While the current macro-economic environment creates some uncertainty, the budget hotel segment has proven resilient as consumers continue to search for great value options within the marketplace – such as those offered by Travelodge. Looking ahead, we remain confident in the long-term prospects for Travelodge and excited about our future growth opportunities.”