The ill-feeling between the UK’s two top budget hotel chains, Travelodge and Premier Inn, has become public after Travelodge sent an email to customers which stated the following:
“Independent price checking revealed that customers had a less then 1% chance of finding a £29 room if they used Quick Book compared with a 24% chance for those clicking on a Premier Offer banner. This means thousands of customers may have been charged as much as double the price they should have paid.”
Travelodge’s advertising company have registered a domain where there is currently an online petition through which Premier Inn customers are being encouraged to request a full refund. Travelodge have also complained about the Premier Inn offer to the advertising standards authority.
For their part, Premier Inn counter the allegations and say that it is very easy to book a £29 room through their site.
Wonder if this has got something to do with Travelodge’s Dubai owners feeling the pinch?