Ad description
A paid-for search ad for Premier Inn, seen on 4 November 2023, stated, “Premier Inn Edinburgh - Rooms From Only £35 Per Night”.
Issue
The complainant, who could not find any rooms in Edinburgh at the advertised price, challenged whether the claim in the ad was misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
Whitbread Group PLC t/a Premier Inn provided data that showed that for 365 days, from 8 am on 4 November 2023, there were 112 live opportunities - “site nights” - to book a hotel room in Edinburgh for £35 within their booking window. They provided a table that outlined the spread of availability of hotel rooms in Edinburgh at £35 within that window. The table demonstrated there had been 377 site nights available at £35 in the booking window, which they considered a significant spread.
Premier Inn said they provided training on responsible advertising, including around availability and appropriate targeting of ads. They had removed the challenged claim so that the complaint could be properly investigated and so they could fully scrutinise their data.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would understand the claim “Premier Inn Edinburgh - Rooms From Only £35 Per Night” as meaning that a significant proportion of rooms available across the proceeding 365 days would be available at £35.
We reviewed the table of data provided. It outlined that only a small percentage of site nights had rooms on offer for £35. We therefore concluded the claim “Premier Inn Edinburgh - Rooms From Only £35 Per Night” had not been substantiated and was likely to mislead.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation), 3.17, and 3.22 (Prices).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Whitbread Group PLC t/a Premier Inn to ensure that when using “from” price claims in the future, a significant proportion of the advertised rooms were available at the advertised price.
