Travelodge to pay public £25m to find sites

Budget hotel company Travelodge has set aside £25m for people who find them sites.

The public are being asked to come up with new locations or existing buildings that could be used for hotels.

Tip-offs could be worth up to £150,000 to any individual, with the firm paying £500 or each bedroom created on a site.

The chain's average size hotel is about 80 bedrooms, but the property team wants future hotels to have an average of 100 rooms.

The plan is part of a drive to open 500 additional UK hotels by 2020.

Paul Harvey, Travelodge property director, said: "We are on a mission to open more UK hotels than any other company in history and would like our customers, staff and the general public to get involved. We have a fantastic property team that is already working on hundreds of sites, but you cannot beat local people for local knowledge.

"We want to leave no stone unturned in a bid to make us the UK's number one choice in hotels. For every proposed site that results in a new Travelodge opening, we will be delighted to pay up."

Travelodge is targeting major towns in the UK, with a major push in Greater London, the South-east of England, the North-west and Midlands.

It will open about 30 hotels this year and is planning to open more than 40 a year from 2008 onwards.

Potential sites can be reported at www.travelodgedevelopment.co.uk.