THE Thame-based Travelodge chain is planning a programme of new hotels following a strong financial performance in 2018.

It opened 17 hotels in 2018, including the first new-build Travelodge Plus hotel in the City of London, which continues to perform in line with expectations, alongside the other new and maturing hotels.

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Total revenue was up about 8.8 per cent to £693m from £637m in 2017.

The Travelodge network stood at 575 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain at the end of 2018 with a further three opened shortly after the year end.

At this early stage of the year Travelodge remains on track with its new opening programme for 2019.

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It opened 17 hotels in 2018 with a further three opening early in 2019 and it expects to open 20 new hotels this year with the majority scheduled to open in the final quarter.

Travelodge chief executive Peter Gowers said: “Our strategic focus on location, price and quality has enabled Travelodge to deliver a set of excellent results.

“We extended our network of hotels, remained focused on delivering attractive prices and took another step forward on quality.

Oxford Mail:

“These are uncertain times and we are not immune from the short-term challenges, but beyond, we remain confident that there are more opportunities ahead.”

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He added: “These results highlight Travelodge’s transformation over the last five years. Over that period, Travelodge’s sales are up by more than £250m, we’ve outperformed our competitive segment for five years in a row, opened more than 60 new hotels and more than trebled our profitability. We’ve invested in better quality and choice for our guests, while staying true to our budget roots.

Oxford Mail:

“People are noticing the difference, culminating in our being recognised, for the first time, as one of the world’s top ten global hotel chains by TripAdvisor.

“The long-term growth opportunities for the budget sector remain strong and we expect to open 100 new hotels over the next five years, creating approximately 3,000 jobs.”

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The first quarter of the year is the chain’s smallest in revenue terms and its lowest occupancy period, with typically lower levels of business and leisure demand and the first two months of the year has seen relatively strong London growth offset by declining performance in the regions.

Its new opening programme remains on-track, with the majority of its new hotels for 2019 expected to open in the final quarter of the year.

Investments in an improved standard room product, SuperRooms and Travelodge Plus have helped attract a growing number of customers and we continue to use effective revenue management to optimise the balance between occupancy and rate growth.

A spokesman said: “The positive like-for-like sales growth, together with good growth in food and beverage sales and the contribution from our maturing new hotels opened since the beginning of 2017, has resulted in total revenue growth of 8.8 per cent for the year, to £693.3m.”

He added that ‘cost pressures’ included the impact of the National Living Wage, higher business rates and changes to the rules regarding charges for payment cards.

Operational costs were also higher as a result of the direct costs associated with higher occupancy levels and higher utility costs in connection with weather patterns.

For new hotels, the cost increases principally reflect the additional lease costs, wages and other operating costs from a full year of operation for hotels opened in the prior year, and those costs from the date of completion of the 17 new hotels opened during the year.

The business continues to generate strong cashflow with a closing cash balance of £81.8m.