Travelodge has announced the £24 million exchange of contracts on two new hotels next to the MEN Arena, Manchester, and the NEC in Birmingham.

Both of the hotels will have 200 beds, with the locations being chosen largely due to the increasing popularity of live music, comedy and the enduring popularity of conferences and exhibitions. They follow recent Travelodge exchanges in close proximity to London Excel, the Liverpool Echo Arena and the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle.

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The hotels will create upwards of 100 jobs, with many more set to be created during the construction period.

Travelodge is now looking for further opportunities to site hotels near popular venues. A focus is on seeking locations near, among others, the 02 in Greenwich, Wembley Arena and the SECC in Glasgow.

This explosion in popularity of live events helped existing Travelodge hotels, which are located near to live venues, to outperform hotels of a comparable size over the past two years. London Docklands 0.9 miles from the O2, Cardiff Central 0.3 miles from the Cardiff International Arena and Glasgow Braehead 0.1 mile from the Breahead Arena have all seen occupancy hit 100 on nights when a major event is being held.

(CD/KMcA)