Today, the UK’s first budget hotel chain, Travelodge, strengthens its presence in Spain by opening its sixth hotel in the country and its third in the capital city, Madrid.
The new purpose built 98-room property is the Company’s third and largest hotel in Madrid and represents a €12 million investment.
Travelodge Madrid Alcala is situated in the heart of the city’s famous Julian Camarillo commercial district and offers rooms from €29.
In 2013, Travelodge has invested €42million into Spain. In May this year, Travelodge opened its largest hotel in the country – Barcelona Poblenou. The 250-room property represented a €30million investment.
With the opening of Travelodge Madrid Alcala, the Company’s Spanish portfolio is boosted to six properties and 700 rooms. In addition to the three hotels in Madrid, Travelodge has two hotels in Barcelona and one in Valencia.
To date, Travelodge has invested €80 million and created nearly 100 new jobs in Spain.
Paul Harvey, Travelodge Managing Director said: “The budget hotel concept is a growing success in Spain. All of our Spanish properties are trading well. As a result of the double dip recession in Spain, we have seen a significant rise in corporate and leisure Spanish travellers switching from high end hotel brands to Travelodge.
“Spaniards want their euro to work hard for them, and as a result they are making savvier choices so that they can obtain real value for money.
“We are growing steadily in Spain. Our focus to date has been to grow a presence in the country’s three largest cities and we are delighted to be opening our third hotel in the capital. Madrid Alcala Travelodge hotel is located in the city’s key industrial and commercial district, just 15 minutes from Madrid Barajas airport. The hotel has got off to a flying start and has been literally full every night since it opened. Our customer base is predominately corporate which includes customers from local SMEs as well as multinationals such as Bosch and Tata.
“We believe the opportunity to grow in Spain is still huge as the branded budget hotel sector represents just two per cent of total hotel stock. This is substantially lower than other European countries such as France which is 24% and the UK which currently stands at just under 20%. From next year we want to focus on growing our presence across Spain’s other big cities such as Granada and Seville.”
Madrid Alcala Travelodge features the Company’s new room design which has been designed by Travelodge customers. The new room includes an upgraded new luxury king size bed which is deemed in the industry as the ‘Rolls Royce’ of beds and is used predominately by luxury hotels worldwide.
The rooms also have en-suite facilities, air conditioning / heating, a flat screen TV and Internet connection. In addition to help create a warm and cosy ambiance in the new room, Travelodge worked with a chromotherapy expert and has introduced a sleep inducing colour palette to the room’s décor. The hotel also has a Bar Café which offers a 24-hour food and drink service.
Travelodge Madrid Alcala will be managed by Vanessa Villacastin, who has been with the Company since 2004 and previously managed the Travelodge Madrid Torrelaguna hotel. Vanessa will manage a team of 13 people.
With the opening of Travelodge Madrid Alcala, the Company now has 517 hotels which includes 500 in the UK, 11 in Ireland and six in Spain.