UK hotel company Travelodge said on Monday that it plans to invest EUR 1 bn in expanding its operations in Spain. The company will open 100 hotels in the country by 2020, representing the budget chain's first major move into

UK hotel company Travelodge said on Monday that it plans to invest EUR 1 bn in expanding its operations in Spain. The company will open 100 hotels in the country by 2020, representing the budget chain's first major move into
international markets.

Travelodge will initially target major cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia before rolling out to other major cities, suburban areas and airports. Each hotel will have approximately 80-100 rooms and will mirror the UK budget model. The company's expansion in Spain follows a successful pilot of three Spanish hotels - two in Madrid and one in Barcelona. Travelodge said that 'a burgeoning tourism market, favourable economic conditions and significant growth in internet usage' were the key drivers in its decision to expand in the region. The company will primarily target domestic travellers and then its strong UK customer base that regularly travels to Spain.

'Spanish consumers' appetite for budget products, coupled with a surge in internet usage complement our low cost brand and internet sales model. Travelodge has an important role in international markets like Spain which are building high demand for the no-frills approach,' said Grant Hearn, CEO of Travelodge. 'There are just 100 budget hotels in this country and with Spanish travellers taking 143 million domestic trips a year, we think market potential is huge. We also know that 61% of our 1.5 million UK online customer base is planning to take a trip to Spain within the next three years. We are confident that we can deliver strong occupancy and growth through a combination of these two markets,' he said.

The budget chain plans to have five additional Spanish hotels open and a further 15 sites in its pipeline within the next three years. Travelodge will develop the remaining properties between 2010 and 2020. To drive Travelodge's Spanish growth, the budget chain has appointed Horacio Alcala as its development director for Spain.