Travelodge opens 11th hotel in Edinburgh
Travelodge ](http://www.caterersearch.com/A-Z/CompaniesLanding/224/2328/Page1.htm)has opened its eleventh hotel in Edinburgh, the fifth in the Scottish capital in the last 15 months.
The 96-bed hotel has opened its doors in time to put up Edinburgh Festival revellers, and is expected to be fully booked on its opening weekend.
The £7.9m hotel is located on Waterloo Place, Edinburgh and will offer rooms from £19.
Travelodge's room stock is now up to 1000 in the capital, and the firm now claims to be the biggest hotel brand in Edinburgh with 20.4% of the city's hotel supply.
It has targeted the city for its strong tourism economy, with the Edinburgh Festival being the biggest revenue driver for the hotels every year. In addition, Edinburgh is already Travelodge's busiest city throughout the whole of the UK for this year's New Year celebrations.
The budget chain aims to grow its operation in the city by a further 75% with more sites planned in the coming years.
Travelodge's chief executive officer, Guy Parsons said: "Growth in Edinburgh has been one of our priorities as it is such an important tourism economy. We have committed around £50 million to new hotels in the city over the past three years, acquiring existing hotels that had fallen below the standards that the modern day consumer expects."
[Visit Scotland's ](http://www.visitscotland.com/)chairman Mike Cantlay said: "It is great to hear that big players like Travelodge are looking to grow further, adding more quality, low priced accommodation to the city. With some travellers' budgets restricted due to the current economic situation, it is vital that we offer quality accommodation to suit a range of budgets in Edinburgh."
An Edinburgh Hotel Supply report by Melvin Gold in 2009 stated that the Scottish capital's budget hotel share was still some way behind some of Britain's key tourism cities such as Glasgow (31.4%), Liverpool (36.5%) and Birmingham (28.9%). The report claimed that budget supply was still relatively low, allowing potential for growth.
Melvin Gold from [Melvin Gold Consulting](http://www.melvingoldconsulting.com/) said: "The budget sector has been the key growth sector in the hotel industry over the last decade and it still has a considerable way to go. Despite the significant increase in budget accommodation in Edinburgh over the last decade, there is still plenty of opportunity for growth in the city."
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By James Stagg
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