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Advertisements by three hotel chains and travel site Booking.com have been banned for misleading consumers about the number of rooms available at the cheapest prices.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that Booking.com, Accor, Travelodge And hilton All used “from” price claims for hotel rooms, which overstated the number of rooms available at the advertised rate.
Because only a small portion of the rooms were available at the advertised prices on different dates As a found the ads misleading and banned all four.
In the case of Booking.com, an advertisement on May 6 said, “Places to stay sheffield – Best Price Guarantee, read further text “Easyhotel Sheffield City Center from £28”.
Booking.com said the dates and prices displayed were “dynamically selected”. Google From the data it provides, which means they may differ for each user and search.
He believed that the information displayed in the advertisement was accurate and not misleading.
The ASA said data provided by Booking.com showed that seven bookings were made at the easyhotel Sheffield City Center at the advertised price in May.
It added that it did not receive any other information from Booking.com, such as the number of dates on which rooms were available for £28, that would allow us to adequately assess the proportion of rooms in the hotel available at the advertised price and therefore considered that the information provided was insufficient to substantiate the “from £28” claim.
The watchdog found that Accor’s advertisement was for £27 rooms at its ibis Budget Birmingham Center that were only available for a one-night stay on 30 July, and therefore was “not a true reflection of the price most consumers could expect to pay”.
It said consumers would understand the claims “Travelodge Nottingham Riverside from £25” and “Travelodge Swansea M4 from £21” would mean that a significant proportion of rooms at each hotel would be available at the advertised price.
However, it was understood that the advertised prices were only available to book for a one night stay on 18 May.
In the case of Hilton, the ASA said it had not seen sufficient evidence to demonstrate that a significant proportion of hotel rooms were available at the advertised prices of £68 at the Hampton by Hilton Hamilton Park or the advertised prices of £59 at the Hampton by Hilton Newcastle.
ASA operations manager Emily Henwood said: “Advertised prices must match prices actually available.
“If only certain rooms are actually offered at the price shown, or it only applies to a specific date, this information should be made clear to avoid misleading people.
“Otherwise, it is unfair to anyone who is trying to find a good deal or make an informed choice about where to book.
“People should be able to trust the prices they see in adverts and these decisions show that we will take action when the rules are broken.”
Travelodge said in a statement: “Travelodge takes its responsibilities under the ASA advertising guidelines seriously. Prices shown in adverts were generated from our live pricing feed and represented the cheapest bookable date available.
“We recognize that customers expect clarity and transparency in pricing, and we continue to work closely with Google to ensure that all ad formats are clear and fully compliant. This particular ad format was removed prior to the ASA decision, and we remain committed to providing transparent, accurate, and great pricing for all of our customers.”
Booking.com said: “Our aim is to provide travelers with consistently transparent information when planning and booking trips on our platform, including accurately reflecting rates and availability at the time of advertising.
“That was the case in this instance, with a successful booking being made at the advertised rate, evidence of which was shared with the ASA. We continue to work closely with the ASA to resolve any outstanding questions they may have.”
An Accor spokesperson said: “Although the advertised ‘from’ prices were available and reflected the rates guests could book at the time the ad was viewed, we believe the range of dates available did not align with the Committee’s Code of Advertising Practice.
“We are using this opportunity to further strengthen our existing internal processes. The specific ad that was found to be in violation has been removed and will no longer be shown.
“Accor is fully committed to complying with all applicable regulations and protecting the interests of our guests.”