Budget hotel chain Travelodge has appointed Craig Bonnar as its new chief executive.
Bonnar has been serving as interim chief executive since the beginning of the year and has been chief operating officer of the company since January 2017. He replaces Peter Gowers, who held the position from 2013.
Prior to joining Travelodge, Bonnar worked at Asda for more than 20 years, starting on the shop floor and working his way up to a variety of senior positions, including head of retail operations, operations director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, managing director of city facilities management, and vice president store proposition and format development.
Travelodge chairman Martin Robinson said: Bonnar’s appointment came at an “important and exciting time for the brand”.
He added: “He has led us through a critical period of recovery and with his in-depth knowledge as COO and passion for the brand; Craig was the natural choice to lead the business on the next leg of its journey.”
Bonnar said: “Travelodge is one of the UK’s great brands and the engine of this business is its people, and I am honoured to be given this opportunity to lead the company forward in its next phase of growth. I take on this new role with great ambition for the group and I am looking forward to working with the leadership team to build upon the brand’s strong foundation with Travelodge being well positioned to benefit from recovery as restrictions are lifted and demand builds.
“Our immediate priorities are to reopen all our hotels and resume full trading, continue to rebuild relationships with our landlords and plan for the future.”
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