Budget hotels discussion

[BuhSnarf]

Will be interesting to see what reputation "Queensway Inns" gets. "Best" Western has long been on my avoid list as they're usually tired and expensive; I put them in the same category as "the democratic republic of X" in that if you have to state it it probably isn't.

Yep, I've similar thoughts about Best Western and in fact the one it took over was a very old style Premier Inn that never had the best reputation.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Looks like Premier Inn have picked up a hotel near Cabot Circus in Bristol from Future Inns, quite interesting since PI already have three other city centre hotels both within a 10/15 min walk of the new place.
I guess they did lose one by the bus station given that tower has been demolished now but still seems quite a lot!

 

[route101]

I stayed in the Premier Inn (West Brompton) and that is an old Holiday inn Express.

I have only ever had breakfast at Premier Inn. I did have some nibbles in the evening and everyone else seemed to be on the meal deal, as the staff were confused why we would order two side dishes with a few drinks.

 

[takno]

Will be interesting to see what reputation "Queensway Inns" gets. "Best" Western has long been on my avoid list as they're usually tired and expensive; I put them in the same category as "the democratic republic of X" in that if you have to state it it probably isn't.

Best Western is definitely one of those brands which are so toxic they'd be better off not being with a network at all. Even the ones which are slightly less tired usually manage to mess it up with rude staff, who often seem to be managing 2 other hotels, a local hostel and several Airbnbs from the one reception desk

 

[Bletchleyite]

Best Western is definitely one of those brands which are so toxic they'd be better off not being with a network at all. Even the ones which are slightly less tired usually manage to mess it up with rude staff, who often seem to be managing 2 other hotels, a local hostel and several Airbnbs from the one reception desk

I think it's the "Evri problem" - if you have franchisees or contractors with loose contracts and poor quality management, your brand ends up being dirt very quickly.

There's no reason a franchised business should have a poor reputation like that - you'd barely know a franchised McD was for example, and many Hilton hotels are operated by partners - but you do need very robust contracts and quality checking and management in place for it to work, so the franchisee/contractor has no incentive at all to cut corners to save money.

 

[DelW]

Best Western is definitely one of those brands which are so toxic they'd be better off not being with a network at all. Even the ones which are slightly less tired usually manage to mess it up with rude staff, who often seem to be managing 2 other hotels, a local hostel and several Airbnbs from the one reception desk

My impression has always been that Best Western is really little more than a booking agency. They seem to impose little standardisation on the individual franchisees, so the quality varies widely. I've stayed in some that were very good, but it ain't always so!

 

[Andyh82]

I recently stayed in a Premier Inn in Reading and this had a Beefeater that was seemingly closed a few years ago and refurbished, maybe as a trial.

Basically think of a rectangle and slice it in two three horizontally. The two parts adjacent to the outside walls is now around 4-5 rooms on each side. The middle part is now a smaller “The Social” in house bar and restaurant. It was just on the ground floor of the building adjacent to reception.

It remains to be seen how they deal with the ones where the pub restaurant was in a separate building.

 

[DelW]

Basically think of a rectangle and slice it in two three horizontally. The two parts adjacent to the outside walls is now around 4-5 rooms on each side. The middle part is now a smaller “The Social” in house bar and restaurant. It was just on the ground floor of the building adjacent to reception.

One advantage of that change might be to produce additional accessible rooms. My late partner had mobility problems and always tried to book an accessible ground floor room, but some hotels had very few if any available. She couldn't manage stairs, and was always worried about the possibility of an evacuation with the lifts unavailable. The contraptions used for getting people downstairs in those circumstances didn't appeal to her at all!

 

[BuhSnarf]

Thanks. Looks like they're aiming to build their own portfolio of "Queensway Inns" then, and that is the branding being used for the restaurants too.

Just drove by on the way back from my daughter's house and the Premier Inn branding appears to have all been replaced with the navy blue Queensway Inn logo.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It remains to be seen how they deal with the ones where the pub restaurant was in a separate building.

Some PIs have annex rooms. However a lot of them are being sold as noted upthread, if they are not feasible to convert. There may or may not then be a contract to deliver the PI breakfast and meal deal with the new owner, if a suitable contract can be negotiated; if not an internal restaurant will be added (which might cost a couple of rooms).

 

[BuhSnarf]

It is unclear how these new restaurants acquired by Common Table Group will work with the hotel whether officially or not, but it does appear that they are aiming to have hotel guests use them from their statement:

"The business said the sites will “remain restaurants at heart” and offer an all-day food and drink menu for hotel guests and locals, alongside a new Rodeo coffee offer from sister company Rodeo Group."

It's obviously all talk at the moment, but from their website / what they're saying I'm quite interested in what they come up with as it could be something pretty good. And when I've had their coffee in Manchester it's been good.

 

[ChrisC]

Best Western is definitely one of those brands which are so toxic they'd be better off not being with a network at all. Even the ones which are slightly less tired usually manage to mess it up with rude staff, who often seem to be managing 2 other hotels, a local hostel and several Airbnbs from the one reception desk

I am very aware that there are a number of Best Western hotels which are not good at all. Many of these are ones which have been added to the Best Western brand during the last few years including a few former Premier Inns. Fortunately I have always managed to avoid staying in one of their bad hotels and I understand that they can be terrible. If you do lots of research, reading reviews etc before booking, the bad ones can be avoided, and you can actually find some real gems.

It‘s unfortunate that these sub standard hotels are now giving Best Western a bad name and that some people even see it as toxic. Some of the long established hotels, which have operated under the Best Western name for many years, are actually very good. I could list at least a dozen of their hotels, which I have stayed at, in some cases more than once, which are lovely hotels with fantastic friendly and helpful staff. Some of these are independently run and have been owned and run by the same family for many years. Some are so popular with returning guests that you have to book well in advance and they often don’t appear when you search the Best Western Website because they are regularly fully booked. One such example, which I have stayed at numerous times is The Forest and Vale Hotel in Pickering, North Yorkshire.

The type of Best Western branded hotels I am referring to, however, are not what would be considered budget hotels, so perhaps are not relevant to this thread.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I am very aware that there are a number of Best Western hotels which are not good at all. Many of these are ones which have been added to the Best Western brand during the last few years including a few former Premier Inns. Fortunately I have always managed to avoid staying in one of their bad hotels and I understand that they can be terrible. If you do lots of research, reading reviews etc before booking, the bad ones can be avoided, and you can actually find some real gems.

The thing is that most people, me included, don't want to spend ages researching, they want to quickly search and find a hotel at an acceptable price under a trusted brand where they know what they're getting (actually a marketing slogan for PI, it's that powerful a marketing tool). Thus BW doesn't work. It's not like the days when you'd book through a knowledgeable travel agent who would make you a recommendation having done the legwork for you.

If I book a PI I - as the ad says - know what I'm getting, and that's what I want in a hotel. I don't want a surprise when I arrive tired at 11pm on a Friday evening, I want a good quality room the same as every other time I've stayed there.

BW are either going to need to up their standards to reach this consistency* and boot others out, or probably wither on the vine as people are put off by the bad apples.

* An example might be Ibis Styles, which I believe is franchised and the hotels have their own quirks, but the fundamental standards are consistent.

 

[jon81uk]

The thing is that most people, me included, don't want to spend ages researching, they want to quickly search and find a hotel at an acceptable price under a trusted brand where they know what they're getting (actually a marketing slogan for PI, it's that powerful a marketing tool). Thus BW doesn't work. It's not like the days when you'd book through a knowledgeable travel agent who would make you a recommendation having done the legwork for you.

If I book a PI I - as the ad says - know what I'm getting, and that's what I want in a hotel. I don't want a surprise when I arrive tired at 11pm on a Friday evening, I want a good quality room the same as every other time I've stayed there.

BW are either going to need to up their standards to reach this consistency* and boot others out, or probably wither on the vine as people are put off by the bad apples.

* An example might be Ibis Styles, which I believe is franchised and the hotels have their own quirks, but the fundamental standards are consistent.

Although not as bad as Best Western unfortunately Premier Inn isn't as consistent as could be, the hotels with air-conditioning are defined on their website, but for those without it often further research is needed to whether windows can be opened and how usuable the room actual is in hot weather.