Budget hotels discussion

[johntea]

Premier Inn cuts Bedfordshire jobs and moves call centre to Egypt

The hotel chain says the majority of customers now book online.

www.bbc.co.uk

Hotel chain Premier Inn has confirmed jobs will be lost as it moves its telephone reservation call centre from the UK to Egypt.

Staff based at Houghton Hall Business Park in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, were told on Tuesday that 88 roles would be made redundant, affecting 59 full-time positions and a number of other people part-time staff.

Half of its telephone reservation service is already handled by a call centre based in Manila, Philippines, but the company said the vast majority of customers now booked online.

A spokesperson for Whitbread, which owns the chain and is based at the same Houghton Regis site, said: "We can confirm that we have begun a consultation process which will involve proposed changes to some of our contact centre teams."

The complaints and queries telephone service for guests will remain in Houghton Regis.

Is there a pyramid shaped branch of Premier Inn

 

[gswindale]

Premier Inn cuts Bedfordshire jobs and moves call centre to Egypt

The hotel chain says the majority of customers now book online.

www.bbc.co.uk

Is there a pyramid shaped branch of Premier Inn

I didn't even realise they had a call centre. Having used them since they were Premier Lodge (i.e. before Whitbread were the owners), I've only ever booked online.

 

[route101]

Used a budget hotel chain called La city hotels. I stayed in one in Alicante and while it was a single bed, the room did have a fridge which was very helpful as most drinks are sold at room temperature in shops in Spain. One negative there was not a window.

 

[Kite159]

I didn't even realise they had a call centre. Having used them since they were Premier Lodge (i.e. before Whitbread were the owners), I've only ever booked online.

Likewise, I guess the number of customers who book rooms over the telephone is a small percentage compared to those whom book online.

 

[TravelDream]

Something that's often puzzled me is why Sunday nights are usually the cheapest nights to stay anywhere (except for Bank Holiday weekends), when one could take a Monday off work as easily as a Friday, where Friday nights are among the most expensive as one would expect. I'd certainly have thought Sunday night would be more expensive that Monday or Tuesday nights.

Sunday is low demand from leisure and low demand from business. It's the only night of the week like that. Consequently, room rates are cheapest.
Monday to Thursday have higher business demand and Friday and Saturday higher leisure demand (generally). Though anyone who's tried to book a room when there is a large sporting event/ concert knows how prices can surge to several hundred pounds.

I have snagged a few sub £30 Travelodge rooms booking a couple of days in advance for Sunday nights. Obviously the Saturday is more, bit it can average out nicely if you book a Saturday+Sunday night as long as you can take Monday off work. Travelodge do nickel and dime with charged wifi though which annoys me every single time even though I just use phone data.

For budget hotels, I do like the Holiday Inn Express ones s breakfast is always included. But it's also the one where rates can be notably higher than othe rbudget hotels.

That's how the airlines justify the nickel-and-diming; "you only pay for what you want to use". Sure, but nearly everyone going away wants to take a bag, that's why the airlines have progressively cut the size of cabin baggage you're allowed to take for free. It's not a coincidence that on EasyJet a 15kg hold bag now costs the same as a "large" (i.e. normal) cabin bag.

I have been on multiple holidays with just a backpack meaning no nickel and diming for me. Perfectly do-able for 3-4 nights.
Return trip to Barcelona or Prague for about £30? Yeah, that's the one for me.
'Everyone' is quite a stretch too. Next time you fly Ryanair, compare the priority and the non-priority lines. Priority have two pieces of cabin luggage included whilst non-priority have just one backpack sized one. Been on plenty of flights where non-priority is by far the longest line.
I'd take priority for the extra luggage if going for around a week. More than a week and a larger bag is likely needed, but then I wouldn't take priority.

I can survive not being seated next to my friends/ partner for a couple of hours. Earphones in. Eyes closed. Done.



You have to be realistic with what the cabin can take.

Ryanair's 800 series aircraft, are designed to take 118 standard pieces of hand luggage. This was a big improvement on the older 200 series planes Ryanair had which were really more hat shelves with doors than luggage bins.

Many people will try to shove smaller bags/ coats in the bins (which are supposed to go under the seat) reducing the amount of hand luggage that can go in the bins.
What's the issue? There are 189 seats + 4 cabin crew whose bags need to go in too.
Can you see how the maths doesn't make sense?

The newer Max-8 aircraft are designed to take 176 standard pieces of hand luggage for 197 seats and 4 cabin crew. A lot closer to one each, but many passengers seem incapable of putting the bags in correctly significantly reducing the capacity of the bins and you have the same issue with small bags/ coats going in the bins too.

 

[Andyh82]

I’m sure hotels have shot up in price again

I’m looking to stay in the south west in June and I can barely find anything that is less than £100 per night and often they are pushing £150 per night, even places that are a bit out of the way such as being alongside the A30 rather than being on the seafront.

Premier Inn’s are expensive and Travelodges are often barely any different, and that includes the basic no restaurant ones.

I would also say that I think Cornwall is pretty poorly served by budget hotels. There isn’t a massive number of them considering it’s a tourist destination (I think there are 11 Premier Inns, 6 Travelodges and only 1 Holiday Inn Express) and a lot of the ones they do have are old fashioned non-refurbished no air conditioning ones.

 

[Bald Rick]

I’m sure hotels have shot up in price again

I’m looking to stay in the south west in June and I can barely find anything that is less than £100 per night and often they are pushing £150 per night, even places that are a bit out of the way such as being alongside the A30 rather than being on the seafront.

I found this interesting, as I am finding prices have gone up at popular times / locations in Scotalnd and Wales. However literally the first one I looked at (Travelodge Saltash) is £60 on 18 June. The three in Plymouth are £66 on the same date, and Paignton seafront is £50.

Of course you may be looking at a different date!

The price rises - well a significant majority of the cost base of budget hotels is minimum wage employment and energy, and those have risen; add in the employers NI change, plus business rates changes …

 

[TravelDream]

I’m sure hotels have shot up in price again

I was watching old episodes of Hotel Inspector recently. There were places charging £15 and £20 a night which really weren't that bad in themselves despite being on the programme.

Even hovels on the most off-peak of nights go for more than £30 now. Costs for the hotels are definitely going up too though.

We all know how much gas and electric have gone up. Then you've got staff / NI cost increases, business rate increases etc. etc.

Though I did get a Travelodge for £24.99 the other week. Hadn't been to a non-new Travelodge for sometime and was pretty disappointed with the shabby state of the room and mediocre cleaning effort. I wasn't too upset given the price paid, but the same room goes for £300 a night when there are major events in the city.

 

[styles]

I was watching old episodes of Hotel Inspector recently. There were places charging £15 and £20 a night which really weren't that bad in themselves despite being on the programme.

Even hovels on the most off-peak of nights go for more than £30 now. Costs for the hotels are definitely going up too though.

We all know how much gas and electric have gone up. Then you've got staff / NI cost increases, business rate increases etc. etc.

Though I did get a Travelodge for £24.99 the other week. Hadn't been to a non-new Travelodge for sometime and was pretty disappointed with the shabby state of the room and mediocre cleaning effort. I wasn't too upset given the price paid, but the same room goes for £300 a night when there are major events in the city.

I stay in a Travelodge when I go home for Christmas. It was £239 for 7 nights this Christmas just gone, including WiFi and a dog (well, she's my dog, but they let her stay I mean!) That's £34pn for 2 people.

Very basic, poxy TV, bit run down but ultimately clean, fast WiFi, 24h reception, convenient location.

Half of the hotel is actually used as semi-permanent accommodation for those on the council housing list. It was a bit sad going back this year and seeing some of the same faces from last year.

 

[Bald Rick]

I also think we all forget how inflation devalues the pound. Around 20 years ago I was happily paying £80 a night for a Travelodge in centralish London - that’s the equivalent of almost £200 a night now. The exact same hotel tonight is, err £90.

Even in the last 9 years RPI has been 50% cumulatively.

 

[route101]

I’m sure hotels have shot up in price again

I’m looking to stay in the south west in June and I can barely find anything that is less than £100 per night and often they are pushing £150 per night, even places that are a bit out of the way such as being alongside the A30 rather than being on the seafront.

Premier Inn’s are expensive and Travelodges are often barely any different, and that includes the basic no restaurant ones.

I would also say that I think Cornwall is pretty poorly served by budget hotels. There isn’t a massive number of them considering it’s a tourist destination (I think there are 11 Premier Inns, 6 Travelodges and only 1 Holiday Inn Express) and a lot of the ones they do have are old fashioned non-refurbished no air conditioning ones.

Yes, I was looking at Penzance in May and the Premier Inn price was £172 all week! There was alternatives on booking.com but not cheap.

 

[TheSmiths82]

Yes, I was looking at Penzance in May and the Premier Inn price was £172 all week! There was alternatives on booking.com but not cheap.

I assume that was per night and not for the week, £172 would be a good price for a week. I am paying £150 for two nights in an Ibis in Bristol mid week, I thought it was a little steep at the time but was the best deal I could, the same hotel is now £250 for the two nights.

One reason I don't go to the south coast very much is a lot of the cheaper hotels are awful, and even the likes of Travelodge can be £200 a night. I find it cheaper and better just to go to the south of France (in some of the lesser known places, not Nice or Monaco!)

 

[route101]

I assume that was per night and not for the week, £172 would be a good price for a week. I am paying £150 for two nights in an Ibis in Bristol mid week, I thought it was a little steep at the time but was the best deal I could, the same hotel is now £250 for the two nights.

One reason I don't go to the south coast very much is a lot of the cheaper hotels are awful, and even the likes of Travelodge can be £200 a night. I find it cheaper and better just to go to the south of France (in some of the lesser known places, not Nice or Monaco!)

That was per night even mid week. I was planning to do Aberdeen to Penzance and arriving after 9.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Mar 2025 ==

Stayed last night in Premier Inn Canary Wharf (West Quarry). For Sunday night the price was cheap at around £53 for location and for London. Must be one of the tallest Premier Inns at 26 storeys. I was lucky to have a room facing East towards Canary Wharf with a great view. Service was good at breakfast as I treated myself to the full breakfast. Location wise its right next to the DLR or a 15 minute walk from Elizabeth Line.

 

[Andyh82]

Yes, I was looking at Penzance in May and the Premier Inn price was £172! There was alternatives on booking.com but not cheap.

That’s the sort of thing I’m seeing. How can they justify charging that amount in Penzance?

I notice as well as Breakfast being £11 on top (and you even had that business last year when they had no orange juice) they often charge for car parking now. If you wanted to stay in Newquay, it’s an extra £14 per day to park

I think we need a new bold entrant into the UK hotel market, to shake things up and break the norms, like a Flixbus or Lumo for hotels. Premier Inn and Travelodge are far too comfortable getting away with these prices now.

 

[takno]

That’s the sort of thing I’m seeing. How can they justify charging that amount in Penzance?

I notice as well as Breakfast being £11 on top (and you even had that business last year when they had no orange juice) they often charge for car parking now. If you wanted to stay in Newquay, it’s an extra £14 per day to park

I think we need a new bold entrant into the UK hotel market, to shake things up and break the norms, like a Flixbus or Lumo for hotels. Premier Inn and Travelodge are far too comfortable getting away with these prices now.

For whatever inconceivable reason lots of people want to stay in Penzance, and they are having to charge that much to put them off. In that respect it's arguably a bit of a public service.

 

[TravelDream]

I think we need a new bold entrant into the UK hotel market, to shake things up and break the norms, like a Flixbus or Lumo for hotels. Premier Inn and Travelodge are far too comfortable getting away with these prices now.

Hotels will charge what they can, no matter the brand or owner.

Take the Travelodge I stayed in the other day - £24.99 a night so a pretty good deal. On event night in the city later this year, they are already charging £300 a night.
If they could charge £300 every night, they would. But they wouldn't get anyone staying at those rates.

And there's plenty of competition in the UK market with all the small independent hotels and B&Bs around. Plus AirBnB and similar that you get nowadays.


It's part of the reason I generally holiday abroad and don't understand why people think it's more expensive to go abroad. My cousin, her husband and kid always go to Cornwall and I am sure they end up paying more going there than Europe.

Return flights to Europe can easily be had under £100 with two hand luggage cases outside of the peak summer holidays if booked at the right time. Hotels in many parts of Europe can be had for very little really.
I stayed in a two bed apartment in Cadiz in the south of Spain last March (beautiful city on the south coast of Spain and off the tourist trail for Brits - but plenty of Spanish tourists). It cost us £270 (so £135 each) for the week and it was a very nice and spacious apartment. Flights were about £70 return to Seville. There's your holiday for £350-£400 all in. Weather was nice. Mid to high 20s and sunny for the whole week.

 

[jon81uk]

I also think we all forget how inflation devalues the pound. Around 20 years ago I was happily paying £80 a night for a Travelodge in centralish London - that’s the equivalent of almost £200 a night now. The exact same hotel tonight is, err £90.

Even in the last 9 years RPI has been 50% cumulatively.

Yes, overall I think UK & Europe hotel prices have not really been affected by inflation. There are now some very expensive cities in the USA where £250-400 a night is the new normal. But over here its still quite easy to find a £90-150 a night hotel.

 

[Iskra]

That was per night even mid week. I was planning to do Aberdeen to Penzance and arriving after 9.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Mar 2025 ==

Stayed last night in Premier Inn Canary Wharf (West Quarry). For Sunday night the price was cheap at around £53 for location and for London. Must be one of the tallest Premier Inns at 26 storeys. I was lucky to have a room facing East towards Canary Wharf with a great view. Service was good at breakfast as I treated myself to the full breakfast. Location wise its right next to the DLR or a 15 minute walk from Elizabeth Line.

Have you considered a trip on the Night Riviera? Could be cheaper than a hotel and includes travel if you're going that direction anyway.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Have you considered a trip on the Night Riviera? Could be cheaper than a hotel and includes travel if you're going that direction anyway.

Indeed the Caledonian Sleeper which is expensive nowadays might not seem so expensive when compared to a hotel in Edinburgh or Inverness.

I still think hotel prices have shot up over the last five years. Someone told me it is because many more hotels are being used to house people that the state cannot find a home for.

 

[jon81uk]

I still think hotel prices have shot up over the last five years. Someone told me it is because many more hotels are being used to house people that the state cannot find a home for.

Prices of a lot of things have shot up over the last five years.

Using the BoE inflation calculator, something for £100 in 2020 would cost £124 now. So a £40 Travelodge room going to £50 is pretty much just inflation the same as everything else.

 

[styles]

Indeed the Caledonian Sleeper which is expensive nowadays might not seem so expensive when compared to a hotel in Edinburgh or Inverness.

Especially for 2 people sharing. I've got tickets from the Highlands to London booked with a disabled railcard holder later in the year and it's a little over £90pp. Only a classic twin, but she doesn't really eat breakfast anyway, and we'll shower before we leave home.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Prices of a lot of things have shot up over the last five years.

Using the BoE inflation calculator, something for £100 in 2020 would cost £124 now. So a £40 Travelodge room going to £50 is pretty much just inflation the same as everything else.

Seems to me to have doubled tbh. But it is a very hit and miss sample.
Gone are the chances of a room for £29.99 or £39.99 per night TravelLodge, seem to be looking either side of £100 !.

 

[Silver Cobra]

I guess it still depend when and where you go, and also when you book. On 9th March I booked a four night stay at the Travelodge by the football stadium in Blackpool for the middle of June (I've stayed here many times before) at a total cost of £149.96 for flexible rate (so £37.49 per night on average). When I looked back in January for the same dates they wanted nearly £230 for the stay. If that was still the price when I looked two weeks ago I would have considered spending a bit more to stay at somewhere like the Big Blue near the Pleasure Beach.

 

[Cross City]

Seems to me to have doubled tbh. But it is a very hit and miss sample.
Gone are the chances of a room for £29.99 or £39.99 per night TravelLodge, seem to be looking either side of £100 !.

I booked a night at a Travelodge in Gateshead for £40 about 2 weeks ago.

 

[bspahh]

Seems to me to have doubled tbh. But it is a very hit and miss sample.
Gone are the chances of a room for £29.99 or £39.99 per night TravelLodge, seem to be looking either side of £100 !.

Travelodge have a promotion for rooms for £35 or less, for selected stays until June 21st.

Travelodge UK Hotels from £29 - Book Your Stay Now at Travelodge | hotukdeals

www.hotukdeals.com

has a list of Travelodge rooms for under £29

With their Price Finder, you can get a room at the Edinburgh Central Travelodge this Sunday for £50

Their prices go up and down. It might be worth booking now on a flexible rate, so you can cancel and rebook if prices drop.

 

[route101]

Have you considered a trip on the Night Riviera? Could be cheaper than a hotel and includes travel if you're going that direction anyway.

I did do the sleeper last year from Penzance up to London. Arriving on the cross country at Penzance and leaving on the sleeper is a bit risky.

 

[Iskra]

I did do the sleeper last year from Penzance up to London. Arriving on the cross country at Penzance and leaving on the sleeper is a bit risky.

It is, but you could always jump off at any of the stops before Penzance if you were running late and change onto the sleeper there instead, so you can’t go too far wrong.

 

[johntea]

I stayed in the Travelodge Kings Cross Royal Scot last night as I missed my train, not a bad price for a Central London location considering I booked at 10pm on the day of check in (£75) and it was somewhere to get my head down but even for a Travelodge it somehow felt in need of attention room wise (the reviews online seem to agree!)

Guess they just focus their attention on the other Kings Cross Travelodge!

 

[AndrewE]

I did do the sleeper last year from Penzance up to London. Arriving on the cross country at Penzance and leaving on the sleeper is a bit risky.

it does look tight - but you have lots of options for baling out and hopping over to the other platform...
edit - Iskra beat me to it!

 

[route101]

it does look tight - but you have lots of options for baling out and hopping over to the other platform...
edit - Iskra beat me to it!

Yes, you could bail and catch it northbound but the completist in me would want to finish the cross country in Penzance.