Budget hotel chain sets its sights on Portsmouth

The budget hotel chain has set its sights on the city as it plans to expand its reach in port destinations.

The hotelier currently operates two Travelodge’s in Portsmouth but the ‘cruise boom’ is seeing it create a £60m investment for third parties and 300 new jobs under its proposal.

The company has named its top 10 cruise port locations in which it hopes to secure deals and open new hotels.

The news comes after a report revealed that, last year, a record two million cruises were taken by British holidaymakers – which is a six per cent increase from 2016.

Tony O’Brien, Travelodge property director, said: ‘The cruise boom is still underway and predicted to grow,

‘We are getting on board now and looking for 10 new hotel sites at UK’s growing ports, which includes Portsmouth.

‘With more Britons taking to the waves, our port-based hotels are benefiting from holidaymakers stopping over before embarking and returning from their voyage.’