US hedge fund seeks to profit from post-pandemic surge in demand for budget hotel chain Travelodge is to be put up for sale with a price tag of more than £1bn as the owner of the budget hotel chain seeks to cash in on a post-pandemic boom in demand. GoldenTree, the US hedge fund that took over Travelodge in 2012, has held meetings with investment banks to explore a potential sale of the chain of 595 hotels.