Travelodge Hotels in the UK are known for their sort of wacky offerings and promotions. Remember the spacey new age pajamas or the nude sleepwalkers study? Let's not forget the free rooms for folks named Mary and Joseph over Christmastime.
This time around Travelodge has announced that guests will now be able to choose a fragrance to have wafted about their room overnight while they sleep.
So this doesn't sound too crazy but then we read the choices for the fragrances. They are the smell of the sea, freshly cut grass, baby powder and chocolate.
The "therapeutic" pajamas are meant to deter nighttime itching, which prevents 23 percent of Brits from getting a good night's sleep, the hotel chain found in its sleepwear study of 3,000 adults across the U.K. The fabric, called Dermasilk, is made from natural knitted silk and is said to curb cases of the evening scratchies by regulating body temperature and maintaining moisture balance. That's all good, but does it protect against bed bugs?
If you happen to spend the night at one of the U.K. hotels where Travelodge is testing the product--London Heathrow T5, Birmingham Fiveways, Bristol Central, Manchester Central and Edinburgh Central--please do let us know just how therapeutic these PJs are. And no, having to go into therapy after being rejected by your lover for having worn this to bed does not count.
We can always count on Travelodge UK for some wacky promotions but their latest one might not be so wacky, considering it's helping out the earth.
The British hotel chain has their sights set on building the first recyclable hotel constructed of steel container crates imported from China. (Like the one Peter Petrelli found himself in on Heroes.)
Paul Harvey, Travelodge's Director of Property & Development, said: "Although it may not look like a hotel right now, the containers will be fitted out to include everything we offer in the rooms at a traditionally-built hotel - a comfortable bed, en-suite bathroom, wardrobe, mirror, desk and chair, right down to the plasma TV and free tea and coffee making facilities. You simply won't be able to tell the difference."
Travelodge is also saying that the hotels can be assembled and disassembled rather quickly, making them the perfect type of temporary hotel to open around major sporting events or festivals. And we know how Travelodge is big into festival hotel accommodations.
But this isn't just some Travelodge pipe dream. A company rep says the hotel is currently under construction in west London district of Uxbridge. It is set to open in June at a starting rate of 19 pounds a night. The hotel will have 120 rooms and a bar cafe on site.
Travelodge also hopes to open near Heathrow Airport by the end of the year. Whoa Yotel. You've got more competition.
When it comes to music festivals, nobody does them quite like the UK. Glastonbury, Reading, V Festival; they're as close to Woodstock as you're gonna get in this day and age.
The reputation that these festivals have garnered as a hedonist's playground, combined with stellar musical line-ups and a cult celebrity following has made them an international drawcard for Britain, a fact that the always eager to promote off beat events Travelodge Hotels have wisely taken note of this year.
Whilst "roughing it" in the mud and rain with tents and sleeping bags might be part and parcel of festival-going, it's certainly not for everyone. Now those with an aversion to portable toilets and mosquitoes can enjoy all that the festivals have to offer, and still go home to a hot shower and clean bed at the end of each sweaty day.
Until January 31st, Travelodge UK is offering a limited number of hotel rooms at the bargain basement price of USD$18 a night throughout the festival season from June to August.
With Travelodge hotels located in the vicinity of major festivals including Glastonbury, Reading, V Festival, T in the Park and Download, it's an offer that's almost too good to be true. Better still, the price is for the entire room, meaning that you can squeeze in up to four festival-goers for less than a fiver each per night.
The rooms are selling out almost as fast as the festivals themselves, so get in quick to take advantage of this great deal.
Travelodge UK is offering yet another wacky promotion for its guests. This holiday season any married couple named Mary and Joseph will have a free night's stay at a Travelodge in Britain, Ireland and Spain.
Hotel chain Travelodge said husbands and wives matching their criteria would get a night's stay on the house, but with more home comforts than the humble stable of the Christian Nativity story.
The offer is good from December 24th to January 5th. The only catch is that the husband and wife must register their names and details to Christmas@travelodge.co.uk. They will also have to show an official marriage license and proofs of identity. Just think in a few hundred years we could be celebrating the Travelodge Conception.
Travelodge UK has once again put out another wacky hotel survey, this time involving nude sleepwalkers. Yup, nude sleepwalkers and they are mostly men. Even more scary, the number of men sleepwalking is on the rise, increasing by sevenfold since last year's survey.
An astounding 95% of the hotel chain's sleepwalkers have been naked men. These night time sleeping wanderers were found in Travelodge reception areas across the UK, requesting the following information:
- Where is the bathroom
- Can I check out as I am late for work
- Do you have a copy of todays paper
One naked male sleepwalker even managed to get himself locked out of the hotel and later arrested.
Hmm...if we had to guess which of the three reasons for nude sleepwalkers was most compelling we would have to say alcohol abuse. C'mon...we all had that friend in college who whenever they got too drunk removed some article of clothing.
Anyways, Travelodge is sending out notices to its employees on how to deal with nude sleepwalkers. One such piece of advice is to keep a supply of towels at the front desk. We say also remind guests that there are security cameras around the hotel. Maybe that will sink into their subconscious and force them to at least put on some pants before they sleepwalk around.
There are long-term stays and then there are long-term stays and the number of nights the Davidsons have stayed at a Travelodge in England must be record-breaking. Between 1985 and 1997, this elderly English couple stayed permanently at the Newark Travelodge in Nottinghamshire, and then when a new hotel was opened nearby in 1997, they moved to the Grantham A1 Travelodge, conveniently located next to the motorway.
The crazy thing is that it seems to work out almost cheaper for this couple to live at the Travelodge--because they book a year ahead they always get the special rate of £15 a night--plus there are no surprise bills for heating in winter or airconditioning in summer. They have their room cleaned daily for nothing and get an endless supply of toiletries. The Grantham Travelodge is about to mount a plaque at the hotel to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the first stay by its most loyal customers.
So we were, we admit, a little bit dubious about the goldfish plan, where the Travelodge chain in the UK offer rooms with goldfish to help their guests sleep. But another of their recent innovations seems, well, just as ridiculous but perhaps more useful.
We're talking about the Cuddilow, and it was introduced in response to a Travelodge survey that apparently showed 20% of men sleep with a teddy bear when away from their partner. Now at selected British Travelodge hotels you can hire a Cuddilow:
A bespoke cuddling pillow which is two and half feet in length and has two arms for guests to snuggle into ... It's a substitute hug to help you to get a good night's sleep
You can hire it for free but of course that means that you have to ask for it at reception. Would you?
