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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Neil Shaw

People surprised to find out what the Travelodge logo actually is

With around 600 Travelodge hotels across the country and beyond, the chances are you've seen their logo many, many times - but people have been surprised after a woman took to social media to explain what the company's logo actually is.

Most people seem to think the logo for the hotel chain, in shades of blue and red, was a depiction of hills at sunset - a relaxing scene if you're planning a night away.

But TikTok user @chxrll pointed out the picture is actually someone in bed sleeping. The video was quickly shared by people who were shocked to discover the truth.

Posting the video, Char said: "My dumb ass thinking about how the Travelodge logo is a person sleeping... For years I thought it was hills!"

One TikTok user replied: "I've never seen that before in all my life I thought it was just colours." while another said they thought it was a seagull.

Another replied: "I work for Travelodge and I've never realised."

In the early 1970s, Charles Forte bought the US Travelodge brand with the hope of establishing it in Britain. The first Travelodges opened in 1973 in former Excelsior Motor Lodge branches, a brand of motels owned by Forte which were located near busy roads.

Trusthouse Forte would later open another roadside hotel chain in 1976. These were Little Chef Lodges which were attached to Little Chef restaurants and was the first chain of budget hotels in the UK. In 1988, the two chains were combined and rebranded to become "Forte Travelodge".

In 1995, Travelodge was bought by Granada. Granada decided to open Travelodges away from the roadside, with the first urban Travelodge opening in 1997.

In 2003, Travelodge was sold alongside Little Chef to Permira. In August 2006, Travelodge was split from Little Chef and sold to Dubai International Capital (DIC), a United Arab Emirates-based company, for £675 million.

In mid-2010, Travelodge bought 52 Innkeeper's Lodge properties from the Mitchells & Butlers pub chain, leaving less than half the original number of Innkeeper's Lodge hotels. In 2011, Travelodge announced a tie-up with British supermarket Waitrose to develop three joint sites in the UK.

To advertise its new location in Plymouth in 2004, Travelodge ran a poster campaign using the phrase "Other hotels in Plymouth fleece you, we prefer duvets" which was reported to the Advertising Standards Authority.

By 2007, David and Jean Davidson, a retired couple originally from Sheffield, had stayed at Travelodges in Newark, Worksop and Grantham for a combined total of 22 years, making each lodge their home. The retired banker and naval sailor and his wheelchair-using wife found the cost of their stay comparable with living in a house, but with the benefits of housekeeping service and without added costs such as council tax or utilities.

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