Travelodge deploying robot vacuums across hotels to help ease cost pressures

The fund edifice concatenation said request was resilient implicit the summer, but was offset by little country rates, peculiarly successful London

Budget edifice concatenation Travelodge has reported a flimsy summation successful bookings astir events specified arsenic Wimbledon and Justin Timberlake concerts, contempt little country prices impacting its sales.

The institution posted revenues of £786m for the 9 months to the extremity of September, a marginal 0.5% summation from the £782m reported during the aforesaid play past year. This was mostly owed to the opening of 5 caller hotels successful the UK, including 2 successful London and 1 successful Bristol, arsenic good arsenic 5 locations successful Spain.

"Resilient" request from some leisure and concern travellers successful the UK led to a flimsy uptick successful country occupancy implicit the period, according to Travelodge. However, this was counterbalanced by little country rates, peculiarly successful London. The institution noted a slowdown successful bookings successful October owed to mediocre weather and less events, but said they person started to rebound successful caller weeks, particularly successful determination locations.

Jo Boydell, Travelodge’s main executive, said: "Bookings successful the 4th were supported by leisure events specified arsenic Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix, Kings of Leon and Justin Timberlake euphony concerts, arsenic good arsenic concern meetings and events specified arsenic the European Society of Cardiology lawsuit astatine ExCeL London and the Farnborough International Airshow."

Despite this, she acknowledged that the steadfast is inactive grappling with "navigate the interaction of inflationary outgo pressures", which see higher vigor costs and successive increases successful the nationalist surviving wage. Moreover, Travelodge estimates its concern costs volition emergence by astir £21m adjacent year.

The upcoming minimum wage summation successful April, coupled with a higher complaint of leader nationalist insurance, is expected to inflate taxation bills. Travelodge has been actively reducing costs wherever possible, adjacent deploying robot vacuums passim its hotels.

"While macroeconomic uncertainty persists amidst a challenging operating situation for the sector, we stay assured successful the semipermanent prospects for the fund hotels and aboriginal maturation opportunities for Travelodge," stated Ms Boydell.