The UK’s largest hotel brand, Premier Inn, has been required by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to make changes to one of its advertisements for affordable hotel rooms, following complaints from two individuals. The ad in question promoted “£45 rooms”, but the complainants were unable to find rooms at that price, leading them to believe the ad was misleading.
In response to the complaints, Whitbread, the parent company of Premier Inn, stated that while there were indeed £45 rooms available, they were only offered at select hotels. As a resolution, Premier Inn agreed to amend the ad to clarify that the promotion was limited to certain hotels and to provide a link to all participating hotels. As a result of this agreement, no formal ruling was issued or published by the ASA.
Premier Inn currently operates over 800 hotels in the UK, solidifying its position as the largest hotel chain in the country. This is not the first time the chain has faced criticism for its advertising practices. In fact, the ASA has intervened in three separate promotions by Premier Inn since May.
The first complaint, raised in May, resulted in the banning of an ad promoting £35 hotel rooms due to its potential to mislead viewers. The ASA found that only a small percentage of rooms were actually available at the advertised discount rate. Another complaint was also resolved informally in July, similar to the recent issue, when an ad had to be edited to remove claims of getting the best price by booking early.
Sky News reached out to Premier Inn for comment on the recent complaint, but no response has been received at this time.