Travelodge jumps into bed with posh supermarket Waitrose

Budget hotelier Travelodge has entered into a £27m deal with upscale supermarket chain Waitrose to open three mixed-use developments next year.

The pair will open hotels with ground-floor supermarkets in Aylesbury (Buckinghamshire), Sidcup (Kent) and in Vauxhall (London) in the second half of 2012.

Travelodge is negotiating a further 25 deals with major supermarket chains, which will create 520 new hotel jobs.

So far this year, Travelodge has opened a site with Tesco (London Cricklewood) and Morrisons (Manchester Salford Quays).  

CEO Guy Parsons said: “We are very excited to be co-developing with Waitrose, one of the UK’s leading supermarket brands. Having a Travelodge and Waitrose on site offers an attractive proposition for consumers, developers and investors."

Travelodge said hotels with ground-floor supermarkets were easy to build. "They are also able to attract finance relatively easily, even in this difficult environment," said Parsons.