Latest deals on Travelodge UK hotels, AirTran airfares

A few good travel deals have shown up on our radar that you might want to jump on today.

Travelodge UK has already started a summer sale on its UK and Spain hotels. That means prices are a mere £9 for select dates from May 5th to September 6th, 2009. The comparable lowest price for their hotels in Spain is €10. That’s cheaper than a hostel, right? These prices are limited, but the next price up (£19) isn’t too shabby either.

Or else, if you’re flying within the US, get a $25 coupon for your next flight on AirTran Airways, when you sign up for their Net Escapes emails. If you’re considering it at all, you should just go for it–the offer expires today, January 2nd. The $25 coupon is good for travel on AirTran through April 30, 2009. By signing up for their Net Escapes emails, you’ll be notified of their sale fares and special offers.

Coldplay ranked “Top band that help Britons get off to sleep”

“Oh, what’s Coldplay whining about now?” asked my friend David, when he heard Coldplay playing in my apartment a few years back. Ever since then I haven’t been able to listen to Coldplay. All I hear now is whining!

It appears that Coldplay brings entirely different sensations to Britons though. According to a Travelodge-conducted survey, the top bands/singers that help Britons get off to sleep in a hotel are:

  1. Coldplay
  2. James Blunt
  3. Snow Patrol
  4. Take That
  5. Norah Jones

I don’t really know much about the music business, I am guessing it is not really a compliment to be the band that puts people to sleep?

Thanks, Rory Boland, for the tip!

[via Lost Weekend]

Mary and Joseph won’t have to sleep in the stable this Christmas

Here’s an interesting story from our friends over at Intelligent Traveler: This Christmas, hotel chain Travelodge is offering free rooms to UK couples named Mary and Joseph at any of their 322 United Kingdon properties. According to their website, this charitable offer is an attempt to make up for not having any rooms available on that fateful night over 2000 years ago when Jesus was born in a stable.

Here’s what the press release has to say:


Today’s Mary and Joseph will stay in a spacious Travelodge family room which can also cater for a baby and a manger. A free car-parking space will be provided for the donkey and there are plenty of £29 rooms available for the Shepherds and Wise Men to book. The couple can stay anytime from Christmas Eve to the Twelfth Night.

Very cute, Travelodge.

Exposed in a Travelpod: The world’s first mobile hotel room

Writing about normal rooms reminded me of another possible (albeit odd) sleeping alternative to traditional hotels. I first learned about the Travelpod from this Age article by Benji Laynado: For those too posh to pitch recounts Benji’s experience sleeping in one of Travelodge’s mobile hotel rooms — a transparent glass structure with clear polycarbonate walls, carpeting, AC, double bed and other furniture, but no shower. This is the second generation Travelpod, a revised version of the original room that was trialed in 2006, with added design features.

For about $65 bucks a night, the mobile hotel room can be transported from one of Britain’s Travelodge hotels to any destination that allows permission for the room to be placed there. Benji chose a field for his out-of-the-box-while-in-a-box travel experience, and had a good night’s rest in what he calls “the top of the camping chain.” Interesting concept, but confusing, as Benji notes: “I came here to get outdoors, yet everything around me is trying to convince me indoors is great, too.”

The book Sex in a Tent reviews love-making tips for locations other than a typical tent — canoe, beach, sturdy tree — but what about the Travelpod? Would hooking-up in one of these count as an outdoor sexual experience if the structure was simply plopped down in a rural location? Something unimportant to ponder, eh? And how come I can’t find anything about similar structures in the US? Has any American hotel chain experimented with transportable hotel rooms yet? The whole thing seems quite silly to me, but still fascinating to follow these outlandish travel trends.

Hotel staff trained to deal with naked sleepwalkers

Apparently, there’s been a surge in sleepwalking among guests in one of Britain’s largest budget hotel chains. And the sleepwalking itself wouldn’t be a huge problem, except that the majority of these zombie-like guests don’t bother to put any clothes on before they take their nocturnal stroll.

Reuters reports that the budget chain Travelodge has seen a seven-fold rise in sleepwalking in the past year, and that 95 percent of late-night walkers are scantily clad men. As such, the company has begun training staff how to deal with naked wanderers.

The company released a “sleepwalkers guide,” which recommends keeping towels handy at the front desk — “in case a customer’s dignity needs preserving.”