Travelodge today launched a winter price war on its rivals as it announced a sale of almost a quarter of a million UK hotel rooms for the Christmas period.
Despite 77% of the nation reporting December to be the most expensive month of the year, almost two thirds of British adults (64%) are planning a weekend away during December or January. For almost one in five Brits (17%), the Christmas month is their favourite time for a short holiday.
To help reduce the cost of festive breaks, Travelodge has launched its largest room sale to date: 230,000 rooms for £15 each across all of its UK hotels**, including city centres, this winter.
Travelodge's Chief Operating Officer Guy Parsons said, "We want to encourage more people to stay in hotels and have reduced our prices to make holiday accommodation more accessible to more people over the Christmas period.
"Last December, a London hotel room cost an average of £102 while regional hotel rooms charged £65***. This trend toward high prices during peak periods only serves to drive consumers away from hotels. Travelodge is going against the rest of the industry to counteract this pattern by driving prices lower."
According to Travelodge research, the main reasons British adults will stay away from home in December are:
- Visiting relatives - 32%
- Seeing friends - 22%
- Holiday - 17%
- Shopping - 16%
- Office party - 5%
The top five UK destinations for people staying away from home during December are:
- London - 18.9%
- Edinburgh - 3.9%
- Leicester - 3.1%
- Nottingham - 2.6%
- Leeds - 2.5%
Rooms in the Travelodge Christmas Sale can be booked at travelodge.co.uk from 6pm on the 9 November through to 26 November, for stays in hotels across the UK between 17 December 2006 and 21 January 2007.
For further information, please contact:
Jo Begbie
Travelodge PR Manager
01844 358 624
Notes to editors:
Travelodge research conducted by 72 point in November 2006 among 750 UK adults.
* £8.5M figure is calculated on the 2006 average Travelodge room price.
£15 room saving x 230,000 rooms = £8.5m
** Travelodge Christmas Room Sale terms and conditions apply - please see www.travelodge.co.uk
*** According to PKF, one of the UK's leading firms of accountants and business advisors, December 2005 report.
About Travelodge
As the first budget hotel brand to launch in the UK in 1985, Travelodge currently has approximately 279 sites across the UK with the majority in city centres, near attractions and airports.