TRAVELODGE APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR OF REVENUE AND RESERVATIONS
Travelodge has today announced the appointment of a new Director of Revenue and Reservations. Mark Kemp joins the UK's fastest growing hotel company from De Vere Hotels and Leisure.
Mark spent three years with De Vere as Director of Revenue Management and Distribution with a total team of over 60 people. Mark was responsible for delivering revenue & profit growth, through revenue management & distribution strategies across a portfolio of 58 De Vere and Village hotels. Prior to his role with De Vere, Mark worked for Marriott Hotels and Whitbread Group.
Mark joins the Travelodge team with immediate effect and will be part of the Executive Management team, reporting to Travelodge's Chief Operating Officer, Guy Parsons. Mark's remit will involve directing Travelodge's revenue and reservation strategies to support the company's aggressive expansion plans - to open 600 new hotels by 2020 in the UK and Spain, serving 20 million customers.
Guy Parsons, Travelodge, Chief Operating Officer commented: "This appointment is key to supporting our unprecedented growth plans for the UK and Spain. Mark's experience will be crucial in maintaining the balance of strong profit growth and delivering the industry's lowest prices."
Mark Kemp, Travelodge Director of Revenue and Reservations said: "I am really looking forward to getting started. Delivering a revenue management and reservations strategy for a business that is opening a hotel every eight working days is a very exciting challenge."
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For more information contact:
Shula Gillam, PR Executive - 01844 358703 (for Travelodge enquiries)
Notes to editors:
About Travelodge
The first budget hotel brand to launch in the UK in 1985, Travelodge now operates 322 hotels (over 20,000 rooms) - nine in Ireland, three in Spain and the rest in the UK. Travelodge plans to grow its estate to 70,000 rooms (approximately 1000 hotels) by 2020 and aims to be the biggest operator in London by the 2012 Olympics with over 7,000 rooms in the capital.
Six and a half million people stayed with Travelodge last year and 83% of reservations are currently made online at travelodge.co.uk, where room rates start at £19 a night. The chain employs 5,000 staff and is owned by Dubai International Capital, who acquired the organisation from Permira in 2006. In April 2007, Travelodge announced the first stage of a new online retail strategy when it became the first UK hotel company to launch a Travel Insurance product.