Budget hotel operator Travelodge has become one of the first hotel groups to establish a presence on the social networking site Twitter.

According to Charlie Herbert, Travelodge's e-commerce director, the group will use the online portal to offer its 'followers' discounts and share information about new hotel openings.

Herbert added: "More than 85 per cent of Travelodge reservations are now conducted via the web so it makes sense to interact with our customers via Twitter."

As part of the campaign, the budge hotel chain is offering a £10 discount voucher for all its Twitter followers.