Thame based Travelodge appoints new Chairman

By Nicky Godding

13 April 2021

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Thame based Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel brand which operates 586 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain, has appointed leisure veteran, Martin Robinson, as its new Chairman.

Martin has spent most of his career within the leisure sector and brings brand building, strategic management and leadership expertise. He spent 17 years at Center Parcs as CEO of its European business and Chairman of the UK.

He also spent 10 years on the Boards of Disneyland Paris and Regus Plc and has chaired various other businesses, including Holmes Place Health Clubs and wagamama.

Martin currently chairs the UK business for Burger King, the second largest fast food chain in the world and Parkdean Resorts, the UK’s largest holiday park operator.

Stephen Shurrock, Travelodge Non-Executive Board Director, said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Martin as Chairman of Travelodge. Martin brings a broad wealth of hospitality and strategic management experience to the role. The well-established management team and board look forward to working with him to further develop the Travelodge business. As travel restrictions start to be relaxed, business and leisure confidence returns, and our market recovers, Travelodge is well positioned to benefit from improvements in trading conditions.”

Martin Robinson, Travelodge Chairman, said: “It is a great honour to join Travelodge, which is not just a British hotel icon but also a model of a great value brand. Its resilience has helped it to navigate through the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, is an exciting time to be joining the company, as it embarks on the next exciting phase in its development.”

“My passion is to unleash the true potential of a brand with a focus on delivering for our customers in a rapidly changing consumer market. I am looking forward to working with the experienced and highly impressive management team to further strengthen and grow the Travelodge business.”

During the pandemic Travelodge has operated a smaller network of hotels from Plymouth to Elgen to provide accommodation for: key / critical workers, NHS staff, business workers, employees allowed to travel and also supported local authorities across the UK. The company has also implemented TravelodgeProtect+ across all of its hotels. This multi-million pound Covid-19 safety programme has been created in line with Government guidance and is designed to keep customers and staff safe and protected. Travelodge is now gearing up for the uplifting of restrictions on hotels across the UK.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.