Travelodge has reported a 1.7% rise in revenue to £486.7m in its opening half results, despite a fall in earnings.

The budget hotel chain revealed has revealed it has been impacted by weak travel demand in London, with fewer live events and poor weather conditions, as the group posted a 9% fall in core profit to £89.2m for the six months to the end of June.

Travelodge remained upbeat and stated that it has “good momentum” going into the second half of the year, with total revenues in July ahead of 2023 levels, and forward booking patterns “positive”.

The group’s cash balance stood at £263.5m at the end of the first six months of the year having successfully completed the OpCo bond refinancing in June.

Travelodge chief executive, Jo Boydell, said the hotel group delivered a performance “in line with expectations” in H1.

“UK revenues in the third quarter to date are modestly below 2023 levels but we were encouraged by improving trends during July, with UK revenues ahead of 2023 in that month,” Boydell added.

“Forward bookings are also positive, with booked revenue to the end of the year ahead of 2023 levels at this point, driven by strong event demand. Our strong financial position, combined with our affordable proposition and diversified, increasingly well invested hotel network, position us well for long-term growth.”

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