Hotel Chain Expands to Spain

Travelodge Budget Hotel Company has expanded to Spain with one location set in beautiful Madrid and another in Barcelona.

The UK budget hotel chain recently announced a one billion euro expansion plan for Spain and plans to open 100 more affordable hotels and create two thousand jobs in Spain by the year 2020.

This follows successful trials at Travelodge Madrid Las Rozas in Madrid and Travelodge Barcelona Hospitalet in Barcelona. Travelodge in Spain is ripe for growth and hotels in Valencia, Malaga, Zaragoza and Bilbao are set to join the two pilot sites in Madrid and Barcelona.

The budget hotel chain desires leadership in the emerging Spanish affordable hotel market. Travelodge hopes to double in size by 2011; taking advantage of growth in the sector.

Chief executive Grant Hearn said he believes there is a very strong growth pattern outlook for the next 10-15 years. The pilot program demonstrated that the Travelodge model works in Spain and the time is right to capitalize on this demand. The company learned some sixty percent of their UK 1.5 million online customers are planning holidays to Spain in the next three years.

'Spain is the logical place for us to start our overseas expansion,' says Hearn. 'We are very excited about our plans for Spain, an important longer-term growth strategy.'

'Spanish travellers take 143 million trips a year and there were only 100 budget hotels in Spain,, says Mr. Hearn. According to Travelodge, the budget sector is the fastest growing part of the hotel business.

Travelodge said it was first drawn to Spain by the favorable conditions. It will target businesses first, followed by British tourists whom regularly visit Spain.

Only a quick flight away from the UK, Spain has consistently been a favorite destination for British tourists since the 1950's. Less than two hours by air, Spain offers luxuries that aren't readily available in the UK. Diverse cultures and customs have more to offer than miles of beautiful white sandy beaches and clear waters with year-round spring temperatures.

Spain is also rich in monumental heritage, great food and entertainment - all of which bring many British tourists to Spain year after year.

British tourists who want to enjoy more than the beautiful beaches of Spain take in day trips to nearby areas that include some of the world's best golf courses, swimming pools and lush forests.

Convenient locations of Travelodge in Spain, enhanced with comforts of home and modern amenities, complete the Spanish holiday experience to offer exciting possibilities to British travelers.

Low cost flights have made trips to Spain a real possibility for British tourists as well. This has been instrumental to the growing number of British citizens taking holidays in Spain. Since the 1960's air travel prices have steadily dropped and became available to a wider customer range. This makes Spain a very desirable vacation spot for many British tourists.

The budget hotel chain Travelodge was recently bought by Dubai International Capital in a 675m deal. The current management team, which includes chief executive Grant Hearn and Chairman Keith Hamill, will stay onboard after the sale has completed.