Travelodge claims ‘Travelodgical’ campaign boosted brand by 90% amid sale rumours
Travelodge’s campaign to drive awareness of its £100m modernisation programme has boosted brand recognition in the UK by 90 per cent, the company claimed today (20 July) in its half-year results.
Created by CHI&Partners, the ad featured Muppets-sytle puppets singing about room upgrades and value for money and was heavily supported with radio, press, and outdoor activity.
It helped Travelodge report a 17.9 per cent increase in total revenue to £261.0m for the six months to 1 June, with average room rate up 11.4 per cent to £48.19 and occupancy also up 2.4 percentage points to 74.4 per cent.
The hotel chain revealed the £25m campaign’s apparent success as it emerged that owner - investment bank Goldman Sachs, and hedge funds GoldenTree Asset Management and Avenue Capital - have appointed Deutsche Bank to advise on a potential £1bn sale or stock market flotation.
Peter Gowers, chief executive of Travelodge, said shareholders were “exploring future options” and will look to “continue to build momentum”.
“Our development momentum is beginning to accelerate. We opened 5 hotels in the first half of the year and we expect to open a further 45 over the next 24 months,” he said.
“We have already exchanged contracts for more new rooms in the first half of 2015 than we did in the whole of 2014. Boosted by our strong trading performance and the attractions of the value segment, major developers and financial institutions are showing their confidence in the future of new Travelodge.”
The brand is currently seeing strong growth across its digital channels. The launch of its mobile app in May gained 85,000 downloads, and while specific figures were not revealed, Travelodge said booking conversion rates for customers using the service are significantly ahead of previous mobile website levels.
The website now receives an average one million visits per week with a booking made on average every three seconds.