Travelodge criticised by advertising watchdogs
Budget hotel chain Travelodge has been criticised by advertising watchdogs for a spring promotion in which it claimed to offer rooms in central London from £39 a night.
Upholding a complaint from a consumer who had been unable to book a room at that price, the watchdog found the offer breached its advertising code.
Travelodge claimed more than 30,000 rooms were available in central London at £39 or less during its promotion which ran from March 22 to June 9.
However, out of the 79 nights for which the offer had run, there had been 17 for which there had been no availability at all at any hotel and a further 22 nights where availability had been significantly restricted, while almost two-thirds of availability had been over the 15 Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays that had fallen during the offer period, said the Advertising Standards Authority.
Of the remaining 19 hotels, availability across the offer period had been significantly restricted at two of them.
Although the ad suggested there might be some limited availability, the ASA said Travelodge needed to demonstrate that availability had been spread reasonably evenly across the offer period and the locations that were included in it so that recipients would have a reasonable chance of being able to take advantage of it.
The ASA said: "Because we considered Travelodge had not demonstrated that, we concluded that the claim had not been substantiated and was misleading."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025