The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that a national press advertisement by budget hotel chain Premier Inn was 'misleading' and must not appear again.
Headlined 'Everything you'd expect at a 4* hotel. At a budget price', the advert listed items such as an 'all you can eat, cooked breakfast' , 'wi-fi access & digital TV' and 'comfy beds and spacious rooms' , with a tick against each item.
A roundel stated 'Rooms from £50 a night' but small print elsewhere stated 'Additional charges apply for breakfast and Wi-Fi. Digital TV available in 83 per cent of rooms.'
Seven people who complained about the ad felt that the table of features in the ad was misleading, because it implied that all of the features were available in standard rooms at the advertised £50 price, and because it was contradicted by the small print.
Another complainant, who did not consider that Premier Inn hotels could be classed as 4* hotels, challenged whether the table of features in the ad was misleading, because it implied the hotels offered facilities of a 4* standard and could reasonably be compared with other hotels which did have a 4* rating.
Upholding the first complaint, the ASA said it noted that some features on the list related to the hotel chain, while others were specific to the rooms themselves. It also acknowledged that the ad stated 'Rooms from £50 a night' and that the small print qualified the availability of some listed features by referring to 'additional charges'.
It continued: "However, we noted that each feature on the list was ticked and considered the combination of the checklist features and the positive tick would suggest to customers that each listed feature was standard in Premier Inn Hotel Rooms.
"We felt that the prominence of the '£50', combined with the ticked checklist of features, gave a strong visual impression that all the features listed were included in a standard £50 price."
Referring to the '4* star hotel' comparison, the Authority said it noted that the ad listed some of the features the hotel chain claimed to offer and understood that some of those features would be expected at 4* hotels and one (wireless) at a 5* hotel.
Nonetheless, in announcing its adjudication it said: "Because the ad claimed Premier Inn hotel rooms offered 'everything you'd expect at a 4* hotel' - but were unlikely to offer the same range of facilities and services as most 4* hotels - we concluded the ad was misleading."
On both points, the ASA ruled the ad breached CAP Code clauses 'Truthfulness' and 'Other Comparisons' and must not appear again in its current form.
