Travelodge turns to robot vacuums amid budget hotel chain facing £21m costs hike

Travelodge has revealed it is facing a £21m hike in costs in 2025 following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget.

The budget hotel group has warned it will see the increase because of the combined impact of another minimum wage hike in April as well as a higher rate of employer national insurance set to push up tax bills.

Travelodge added that it is minimising costs as much as possible, including by using robot vacuums across its hotels.

Chief executive Jo Boydell said: “While macroeconomic uncertainty persists amidst a challenging operating environment for the sector, we remain confident in the long-term prospects for the budget hotels and future growth opportunities for Travelodge.”

Wimbledon and Justin Timberlake boost Travelodge

Travelodge has also revealed that it enjoyed more bookings around Wimbledon and Justin Timberlake concerts during the first three quarters of its financial year.

The Oxfordshire-headquartered company reported revenue of £786m for the nine months to the end of September, about 0.5 per cent higher than the £782m reported this time last year.

This was driven by it opening five new hotels in the UK, including two in London and one in Bristol, as well as five sites in Spain.

“Resilient” demand from leisure and business travellers in the UK led to a slight increase in the number of rooms being occupied over the period, Travelodge said.

But this was offset by lower room costs, particularly in London.

It said bookings slowed in October due to poor weather and there being fewer events, but they have started to pick up in more recent weeks, particularly in regional locations.

Boydell added: “Bookings in the quarter were supported by leisure events such as Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix, Kings of Leon and Justin Timberlake music concerts, as well as business meetings and events such as the European Society of Cardiology event at ExCeL London and the Farnborough International Airshow.”