The British chain Travelodge is including Palma in its expansion plan for Spain. The company aims to become one of the main chains for quality budget hotels in Spain, where it sees great growth potential for this segment.
Travelodge currently operates some 600 hotels, mostly all of them in the UK. In Spain there are six - three in Madrid, two in Barcelona and one in Valencia. Analysis of the Spanish hotel market has led the company to identify around twenty cities with the greatest potential for expansion, and Palma is one of these.
The Travelodge director in Spain, Angel Beleño, says that it hasn't yet been "100% defined" how many hotels there may be in Spain, but refers to the possibility of 15 to 20 over a period up to five years.
The company commissioned a report by the consultancy Christie & Co. This indicated that only six per cent of rooms are in the "branded economy segment". The study predicts that 15,000 more rooms will be added to the economy and mid-scale segments of the Spanish hotel market over the next five years.
At present, 60% of Travelodge customers in Spain travel for leisure and 40% for business. Sixty per cent are international.
It was first announced in February this year that Travelodge was looking at a presence in Mallorca.