Read: Travelodge launches the first Levelling Up Impact report within the UK hospitality sector

The group also launches a new Learn More, Earn more & Belong programme which includes a new improved apprenticeship programme called Aspire.

Travelodge is committed to offering 6,000 places on Aspire 

Travelodge had identified that it can expand its UK hotel network with a further 300 sites and this expansion could create around 9,000 new jobs in the coming years.

Guy Opperman MP, Member of Parliament for Hexham officially launched the first Levelling Up Impact Report for the UK hospitality sector. Produced by Travelodge, one of the UK’s largest hotel chains and the Purpose Coalition, the report highlights a number of key strengths which see Travelodge leading the way on the levelling up agenda nationally and regionally and it also outlines the group’s social mobility approach for the future.   

To support the launch of its Levelling Up Impact report, Travelodge also announces its pledge to support its colleagues to ‘Learn More, Earn More & Belong in a new programme which includes the following new initiatives:

• A new improved apprenticeship programme called Aspire. This four-level comprehensive programme provides a clear pathway of development and career mapping for hotel and maintenance colleagues to progress from entry level roles through to a District Manager level.   

• For head office colleagues, Travelodge has introduced a new development programme called Limitless aimed at middle managers with a strong focus on good health and wellbeing being fundamental to drive team performance.   

• An investment of £6 million and a commitment to place 6,000 colleagues on the Travelodge Aspire programme over the next ten years.

• Travelodge has identified that it can expand its UK hotel network with a further 300 target locations for new hotels across the UK and has written to 220 Local Authorities proposing a joint development partnership - that can act as a catalyst to stimulate regeneration, facilitate growth and support the Government’s Levelling Up programme.  For over 120 towns, it could be an opportunity to have its first branded hotel. This expansion programme could represent an investment of £3 billion for third party investors and create around 9,000 new jobs across the UK.  

The UK has one of the most dynamic and diverse hospitality sectors in the world, it comprises over 143,000 businesses and employs around 1.8 million people - giving many young people their first experience of work. It is also one of the biggest revenue generators for the UK economy and plays a vital role at the heart of communities and local economies across the UK. 

Travelodge is a leading player within the UK hospitality sector and has a mission to make travel affordable for everyone. Travelodge opened the country’s first branded budget hotel in 1985 and today the group operates nearly 600 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain. It employs over 12,000 colleagues (73% are female) in full and part time roles. Travelodge is also a gateway employer helping people from all walks of life to start or restart their career. It is also dedicated in supporting parents to return to work by offering flexible working hours around the school run - so that Britain’s mums and dads can progress their career whilst raising their family.          

The Travelodge Levelling Up Impact report identifies the group’s social impact against an innovative framework of 14 Purpose Goals created by The Purpose Coalition and supports the group’s sustainability plan called ‘Better Future’ which focuses on three key pillars: Inclusive, Caring & Conscious.

The Purpose Coalition framework helps organisations identify gaps in access to opportunity, address common socio-economic barriers that prevent people from achieving their potential, and in turn helps narrow regional inequality and improve overall living standards of the communities in which they operate. The Travelodge Levelling Up Impact report also highlights Travelodge’s work in three important areas where the company is having a particular impact. This includes:    

Goal 5: Open recruitment - Travelodge ensures that employment opportunities are open to the widest range of people, working with partners in areas of high unemployment. It has an ambition to achieve a 50/50 gender split at a senior level and 10 per cent ethnic minority representation by the end of 2025 and offers flexible working hours around colleagues' lives.

Goal 6: Fair career progression – Travelodge ensures that colleagues have the opportunity to grow their careers in a supported environment with continuous training and is able to fill around 80% of its management roles internally. It has improved its apprenticeship programme called Aspire which has already helped nearly 1500 colleagues progress their careers at Travelodge and aims to help a further 6,000 colleagues over the next ten years. 

Goal 8: Good health and wellbeing – Travelodge’s successful internal wellbeing programme recognises that true wellbeing is dependent on a number of elements and, through listening to its colleagues’ concerns, has responded with a wide range of successful initiatives to support financial, emotional, physical and work health.  

The report also makes a series of recommendations about potential future action that will ensure Travelodge continues to have a significant social impact, including a focus on social mobility cold spots to maximise that impact, measuring and tracking the socio-economic make-up of its workforce

Guy Opperman MP said: “I am delighted that the Travelodge have launched their levelling up report here in Hexham. 

The redevelopment of the old bunker site is an example of levelling up in action. The investment into the site has created over 60 permanent jobs and a £2.16 million visitor spending boost. 

It was also brilliant meeting with Holly and the local Hexham Travelodge team." 

Hannah Thomson, Travelodge, Chief People Officer said: “We are very excited to be the first company within the UK hospitality sector to be leading the way on the levelling up agenda. With nearly 600 hotels across the UK, Spain and Ireland, Travelodge is well placed to support the levelling up agenda across all regions of the UK. Our colleagues sit at the heart of our business and we are committed to providing an inclusive workplace where everyone can Learn More, Earn More & Belong. Working with The Purpose Coalition has helped us to understand and celebrate all the great things we are currently doing, but more importantly, to start understanding where we can do more to support the country’s levelling up agenda and improve our social impact across all the communities that we operate within.” 

“We hope our Levelling Up Impact report will inspire other hospitality companies to support the UK Levelling Up agenda, so together we can make a real difference to the people that make UK Hospitality a world class industry.”     

Rt Hon Justine Greening, Chair of the Purpose Coalition, said: “This report contains some great examples of how a company can tailor opportunities so that people from all walks of life, and with different backgrounds, can have access to rewarding careers. Travelodge understands that there is a particular need for the hospitality sector to attract and retain talent and it has been very successful in doing that, alongside successfully growing its core business. 

Its Aspire programme is a particularly effective initiative which develops the skills of its employees to give them the tools to progress within the company. That doesn’t just mean promotion. It also means learning new skills or reskilling, both critical factors in being able to get on. It also recognises that measurement is key and the introduction of socio-economic questions into applications for the scheme will help to assess how well it is doing and to ensure that it can remove any barriers to progress. It’s a crucial way of supporting the levelling up agenda.”

Lord Walney, Chair of the Purpose Business Coalition, added: “Despite the terrible damage inflicted on the hospitality sector by the pandemic, the industry continues to play a vital role in the UK’s economy. It has the capacity to have a huge impact on providing opportunities for people right across the country, especially in some of our least advantaged areas. Travelodge is helping to shape how purpose-led businesses can make a significant difference by leaning into   and reflecting the priorities and needs of the people and communities they serve.”

Click here to download The Travelodge Levelling Up Impact report.