BUDGET hotel chain Travelodge has outlined plans to open 21 further venues in Scotland as part of a wider strategy that will double the number of hotels it operates in Glasgow to ten.

The plan represents an investment value of £100 million for third party developers and Travelodge said it would create up to 400 jobs.

Travelodge declared that from the target list of 21 sites, nine locations could get their first branded hotel. These locations are: Ardrossan, Aviemore, Galashiels, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Loch Lomond, Montrose, Oban and Pitlochry.

In addition to this, five locations from the target list could get their first Travelodge hotel. These locations are: St Andrews, East Kilbride, Elgin, Greenock and Newton Mearns.

The ambitious plans were laid out as Travelodge opened the first branded hotel in Peterhead, marking its first new venue in Scotland this year and its 544th overall.

In Glasgow, the company said it was seeking sites in the city centre, the west end, near the M8 in the east end, close to the SEC and nearby Silverburn.

Travelodge is seeking investment partners to develop the sites and secure the group on a long-term lease.

Two further hotels in Scotland are scheduled to open this year, including a 74-room hotel in Stirling and a 54-room Travelodge in Inverness. These properties represent an investment value of £14m for third party investors and will create around 50 new jobs, said Travelodge.

Both feature the next generation of the company’s ‘Travelodgical’ contemporary room design, which include a king size bed, softer LED ceiling lighting, flatscreen television and bedside USB charging points.