A HOTEL chain wants to open four new hotels across Worcestershire with bosses arguing it will mean a big boost for the county.

Travelodge already has five hotels in Worcestershire, including in Worcester city centre - but now it wants to expand its portfolio. 

Now the company wants to open four new hotels including another one in Worcester, near the M5, in Malvern, Redditch and Evesham with leaders saying it will bring about growth in the county.

A spokesperson said the expansion programme could represent a multi-million pound investment for third-party investors and create 100 new jobs.

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Travelodge operates nearly 600 hotels and is writing to 220 local authorities across Britain including four councils in Worcestershire - proposing a joint development partnership that can act as a catalyst to stimulate regeneration and facilitate further growth.

Travelodge already operates five hotels across Worcestershire and has a requirement to nearly double its hotel portfolio in the county with a further four hotels in the following locations:

• Great Malvern (Malvern Hills District Council)

• Redditch(Redditch Borough Council)

• Worcester M5 (Worcester City Council)

• Evesham (Wychavon District Council)

This letter sent to the four councils outlines 'the pivotal role that Travelodge has been playing for the last 10 years' in supporting councils and describes itself as a key player in local regeneration and growth programmes.

The letter goes on to describe how it has: helped create jobs and careers within the local community and help parents return to work; attracted new visitors to the area and boosted the local economy; provided a solid long term income stream.

Travelodge has identified that it can expand its UK hotel network with a further 300 target locations for new hotels across the UK, and is offering councils the opportunity to have one or multiple hotels within their region to support their regeneration programmes. 

Upon completion of the hotel development, councils have the choice of either retaining ownership of the hotel and receiving an annual rent into the the revenue budget or selling the hotel with Travelodge as its operator.

The two recent London Travelodge hotel openings at Docklands and Wimbledon as well as Colchester were lease-wrapper deals, also known as income-strip deals. Under this structure, the council takes a headlease, with Travelodge being the undertenant. 

Steve Bennett, Travelodge chief property and development officer, said: “This expansion programme could represent a multi-million investment for third party investors and create 100 new jobs.

"In addition, our research shows that, on average, Travelodge customers will spend at least double their room rate with local businesses during their stay; this can be an annual, multi-million pound boost into each local economy.”