Travelodge plans to open new hotels - graduate jobs

Hundreds of hospitality jobs for graduates may be in the offing as budget hotel chain Travelodge eyes UK expansion.

The group plans to set up 37 new hotels in some of the country's most popular rural holiday destinations in a move expected to cost £135 million and create around 500 jobs.

New establishments, having between 30 and 100 rooms, will shoot up at sites near the 15 national parks - including Aviemore in the Scottish Cairngorm, Betws-y-Coed in north Wales' Snowdonia and Minehead in Exmoor.

Travelodge said it hopes to capitalise on the surge in the number of Britons choosing to holiday at home and explore the countryside.

The group has been seeing higher-than-normal occupancy levels at hotels located near national parks including in Barnstaple, Porthmadog, Cockermouth and Scarborough.

"Traditionally, Britons have opted for a coastal or city break but as more Britons explore the UK they are rediscovering new holiday hotspots and, as a result, we have seen a significant surge in rural breaks," said Travelodge chief executive Guy Parsons.

Copyright Press Association 2011