Premier Inn, a popular hotel chain, has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for a misleading advertisement stating “rooms from only £35 per night”. The online ad, which was posted in November, was found to be deceptive by the ASA.
According to the ASA, the advertisement for Premier Inn Edinburgh implied that a significant number of rooms were available for £35 per night within the upcoming year. However, after an investigation, it was revealed that only a small percentage of the advertised rooms were actually available at that price.
The complaint was brought to the ASA by a reader who was unable to find any rooms for £35. As a result, the ad has been banned from appearing in its current form in the future. The ASA has instructed Premier Inn to ensure that a significant proportion of the advertised rooms are actually available at the advertised price when using “from” price claims in the future.
In response to the decision, a spokesperson for Premier Inn stated, “As the UK’s best-loved budget hotel brand, we always have hundreds of thousands of great value rooms available. However, we accept that this specific digital campaign fell short of our usual high standards and was unintentionally misleading.” They further explained that the issue arose due to a £35 offer that was more popular than expected, resulting in the rooms selling out quickly. The hotel chain has since implemented enhanced processes to ensure future compliance and clear verification of any price claims.
This is not the first time Premier Inn has faced criticism for their advertisements. In recent news, the hotel chain’s parent company, Whitbread, announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs. In addition, ads posted by Premier Inn and Nationwide have also been banned by the ASA for being misleading.
