Hotel advertising banned by watchdog for deceptively cheap rooms

Advertisements from four of Britain’s biggest hotel and travel companies have been banned for stating misleading minimum room prices.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints against hotel group Hilton, Travelodge, Booking.com and Accor over the use of eye-catching so-called “from” prices.

The watchdog found only a small number of rooms actually available to book at the promoted price and concluded that the adverts exaggerated the offers.

He said this was unfair to those looking for good deals or trying to make informed decisions about where to book.

Emily Henwood, operations manager at ASA, said: “Prices advertised must match what is actually available. If only some rooms are offered at the price shown, or it only applies to a specific date, then this information must be made clear to avoid misleading people.

“People should be able to trust the prices they see in adverts and these rulings show we will take action if the rules are broken.”

The ASA used artificial intelligence to identify misleading adverts as part of a wider investigation into the price availability of advertised hotels.

Hotel group Hilton was reprimanded for two adverts, one reading “Hampton by Hilton Hamilton Park from £68” and the other advertising stay in Newcastle from £59.

The ASA asked Hilton if it could support the claims, and the hotel provided evidence that rooms could be booked at the hotels on the respective dates the advertisements were viewed.

But the ASA concluded that Hilton had exaggerated the availability of advertised rooms, leaving potential guests at risk of being misled. It ordered the chain not to republish the ads and warned Hilton to ensure that any future price claims reflected deals available for “a significant proportion of rooms.”

Travelodge was banned from two adverts – one offering rooms in Nottingham Riverside “from £25” and the other rooms in Swansea “from £21”.

The ASA found that the advertised prices were only available for a single night stay, and warned Travelodge to ensure offers are available “across a range of dates” in future.

A Travelodge spokesperson said it recognized the need for clarity and transparency in pricing and is working with Google to ensure its ads are clear and comply with ASA guidelines. It said the relevant advert was removed before the ASA ruling.

Similar findings were issued against Booking.com and hotel group Accor, while holiday chain Butlins was criticized for changing the deadline of a sale it promoted by email.

Accor told the ASA that it believed its advertisements were accurate as rooms were available at or below the main prices in the days after they were published.

Booking.com sent the watchdog a screenshot showing that seven bookings had been made at the prices it advertised.

A spokesperson told the BBC that Booking.com accurately displays price and availability at the time adverts are displayed and will work with the ASA “to address any outstanding questions they may have”.

The ASA also found that Butlin’s had breached its code by writing to customers that “Butlin’s big sale ends in four days” and “time is running out”.

The deadline to participate in the sale was eventually extended by two weeks, which the watchdog said was unfair to those who had been pressured to book a break before the initial deadline.

He urged the company to ensure future promotions are fair to consumers. Butlins said no customers were harmed by the extension of the sales window.

The ASA’s findings come after the Competition and Markets Authority on Tuesday launched an investigation into eight companies over potentially misleading online price claims.