The former Asia-Pacific boss for InterContinental Hotels Group has been named chief executive of Travelodge.
Peter Gowers (41) succeeds Grant Hearn running the budget chain from November 25.
He joins from self-storage firm Safestore Holdings where he has been chief executive since 2011.
As boss of IHG’s Asia-Pacific region, he oversaw more than 250 hotels with over $1.5 billion in annual hotel turnover and 60,000 staff.
Gowers was chief marketing officer of IHG from 2005-2007 where he led the worldwide marketing and sales team.
Travelodge chairman Brian Wallace said: “Peter is a highly regarded senior executive, with extensive industry and market experience and expertise.
“His skills and knowledge will be a great asset in helping to further grow our business and to make Travelodge the best value hotel chain in the UK.”
He added: “Grant has built a remarkable team that, led by Peter, will now take the business on to even greater levels of success driven by meeting and exceeding guest expectations.”
Gowers said: “Travelodge is an iconic hotel brand and I am hugely excited by the opportunity to lead such a great business.
“I am delighted to be returning to the hotel industry and I look forward to working with the excellent team already in place to build on our current momentum and further grow the Travelodge brand.”