Travelodge has announced the appointment of Craig Bonnar as its new chief executive.

He has been serving as the hotel chain’s interim chief executive since the start of the year and has been a member of the group operating board since his appointment as chief operating officer in 2017.

Before joining Travelodge, he worked at Asda for more than 20 years, having started on the shop floor.

Travelodge has recently announced it expects to open 17 new hotels across the UK in 2021, creating 360 new jobs and growing its hotel network to 597 locations in the UK, Ireland and Spain.