Whitbread is to change the name of its budget hotel chain Premier Travel Inn at a total cost of £21m.

The company said its decision to rebrand the chain as Premier Inn would make it easier for customers to remember and help differentiate it from main rival Travelodge.

As part of the project £9m will be spent transforming the buildings themselves with the remainder to go on the group’s largest ever advertising campaign.

Travel Inn adopted the Premier suffix after its 2004 purchase of Premier Lodge.

Whitbread has also entered into a 50/50 joint venture agreement with Emaar-MGF, an Indian real estate developer, to bring the budget chain to India.

As part of the agreement, £300m will be invested in the venture during the next decade with 80 hotels and 12,000 rooms ear-marked for launch in India.

Latest Whitbread trading figures, 13 weeks to 31 May

Like-for-like sales vs prior year

Premier Travel Inn 10.1%
Restaurants  1.5%
Costa   4.7%

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By Chris Druce

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