Hospitality With Purpose: How Travelodge Is Leading the Way on Fair Opportunity

Today we’re proud to launch Travelodge’s latest Social Mobility Progress Report, a joint report between The Purpose Coalition and Travelodge that shines a light on how they are delivering real-world impact: creating fair access to jobs, supporting career progression, and empowering the communities in which it operates. 

• Over 1,000 colleagues progressed through Travelodge’s Aspire development programme in 2024. 

• Industry-leading shift towards data-driven inclusion, with the rollout of socio-economic background data collection to identify and tackle barriers to progression across the workforce. 

• Travelodge launched a targeted social-mobility pilot with Care Leavers into Careers (CLIC) in Liverpool, delivering proven impact for care-experienced young people in one of the UK’s most deprived regions. 

• Pivotal leadership across The Purpose Coalition, setting the benchmark for purpose-led employers and helping shape policy solutions to break down barriers to opportunity. 

When Travelodge first partnered with The Purpose Coalition to launch its Social Mobility Impact Report in 2023, a first for the hospitality sector, it was a statement of values: that a business of its scale could and should unlock opportunity for people from all backgrounds. Those values underpin its Better Future Sustainability Strategy, a commitment to running a business that is inclusive of colleagues and communities, caring in its treatment of people and conscious of its impact on society and the environment. With this new Progress Report, we can now demonstrate the impact made: from policy to practice, from commitment to meaningful change. 

Impact 

Through its expanded “Aspire” management development programme, Travelodge is providing clear internal career pathways enabling colleagues to grow from entry-level roles all the way up to leadership, with apprenticeships and formal qualifications along the way. 

The company has removed degree requirements for many roles, refined job descriptions to focus on potential rather than credentials, and embedded transparent, equitable hiring practices. 

Flexible-working roles including part-time hotel manager positions mean parents, carers and those with varied availability can access jobs that fit around their lives. 

Beyond recruitment and training, Travelodge continues to uphold its broader sustainability and social-responsibility commitments under the inclusive, caring and conscious framework ensuring that opportunity, wellbeing, and long-term impact remain central to how it operates. 

Jo Boydell, Chief Executive Officer at Travelodge, said: “This Progress Report marks an important moment, tracking real outcomes from the commitments we made in 2023. It shows clearly how we’re turning ambition into action, enabling colleagues to learn more, earn more and  belong across our business. While there is more to do, the evidence shows we are moving in the right direction and Our Better Future vision of Inclusive, Caring, Conscious drives us forward and our dedication to building opportunity for every colleague remains unwavering.  

Rt Hon Justine Greening, Chair of The Purpose Coalition, added: “This report is a blueprint with some fantastic examples of how a company can tailor opportunities so that people from all walks of life and with different backgrounds can have access to rewarding careers. The youth unemployment rate for sixteen to twenty four year olds has reached 15.3 percent, up from 14.8 percent last year and well above the headline jobless rate. Travelodge’s progress shows what can be achieved when a business takes a deliberate, evidence based approach to inclusion, turning commitments into real outcomes for the people and communities it serves.” 

At The Purpose Coalition we believe this generation should not become the collateral damage of a changing economy.  That is why we work with businesses and higher education institutions to build practical pathways into work, helping young people move from the margins into thriving careers.  

Nick Forbes CBE, Chair of the Breaking Down Barriers Commission, said: “We are proud to be working with Travelodge — a business that is demonstrating a determined approach to delivering real opportunity in the communities where it works, regardless of background or experience.” 

Sandhiya Patel, Social Mobility Manager at Travelodge, said: “Our partnership with The Purpose Coalition, and our work to deliver on the recommendations first set out in 2023, has strengthened our commitment to social mobility. Our collaboration with Care Leavers into Careers and our targeted pilots in social-mobility cold spots show how businesses can work with community partners to create real pathways into stable, sustainable employment.”