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.

 

[takno]

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.

The one I stayed in over the weekend (not UK), was a strange beast. The receptionist took a while to get to me because she was shouting quite rude instructions at somebody who was trying to get checked into one of their other properties. She then casually abused me about Brexit whilst checking me in, and having got me to sign the check-in form she seems to have sneaked off and checked the boxes herself opting me into advertising and the BW loyalty scheme.

The hotel was a classic "used to be a better brand" place, but it clearly never worked out, so it was a virtually untouched view of what a fairly nice hotel looked like around the term of the millennium, complete with inadequate lifts and lack of sockets. None of that really mattered though, because the reception desk really set the vibe of a hotel where you couldn't be confident you and your stuff was safe.

I think my opinion may be driven mostly by non-UK Best Westerns, but at best the brand is just saying nothing. You always want to hunt through the reviews before considering a BW. Premier Inn (and Travelodge) by contrast enforce minimum standards you can generally rely on. The standards with both of them aren't what they were, but I usually feel like the room will be fairly clean, I probably won't get bed-bugs, there will be sockets by the bed, and for the most part security is alright.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The hotel was a classic "used to be a better brand" place, but it clearly never worked out, so it was a virtually untouched view of what a fairly nice hotel looked like around the term of the millennium

That's probably why they pick up the dregs of former full service hotels to be honest. Many of the premium business hotel chains (Holiday Inn, Hilton etc) have a lot of franchised properties. When they get a bit outdated and tatty, the franchisee is told to do a refurb, but they choose to decline and join a looser chain with lower standards, i.e. Best Western. You also get sale of former company owned premium hotels to independent owners, with the same results.

I don't know what their operating model is (franchised vs. owned) but Leonardo Hotels is another one that has a lot of properties like that, which were formerly something else e.g. Hilton but have got tatty and been taken on by them without a refurb.

Of course the real dregs of that situation are found with Britannia. But I believe they own them all, which is possibly why they lack funds to invest in them.

 

[takno]

I don't know what their operating model is (franchised vs. owned) but Leonardo Hotels is another one that has a lot of properties like that, which were formerly something else e.g. Hilton but have got tatty and been taken on by them without a refurb.

AFAIK Leonardo are all owned. The core of the group is the Jurys Inn hotels which they bought in bulk, basically at the point when they were probably getting a bit too tatty to be "nice" hotels, but were too nice and often too well-located to let go to ruin. They've done some refurbishment - seem to be targeting a similar quality level to Premier Inn, but pushing slightly more on corporate travel than the consumer side. They're not a massive group though, and timing-wise they were only just starting to establish their thing was when Covid hit.

I've never actually stayed in one, but I do know somebody who worked for them. I'd be interested in how they are.

 

[CharlieSpotted]

AFAIK Leonardo are all owned. The core of the group is the Jurys Inn hotels which they bought in bulk, basically at the point when they were probably getting a bit too tatty to be "nice" hotels, but were too nice and often too well-located to let go to ruin. They've done some refurbishment - seem to be targeting a similar quality level to Premier Inn, but pushing slightly more on corporate travel than the consumer side. They're not a massive group though, and timing-wise they were only just starting to establish their thing was when Covid hit.

I've never actually stayed in one, but I do know somebody who worked for them. I'd be interested in how they are.

I've stayed at two - in Nottingham and Manchester (Picadilly) and rate them both highly. Good sized rooms, at least the quality of the better city centre Premier Inns, if not a bit higher and the Nottingham one at least can often be found at a reasonable price on hotels.com.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I've never actually stayed in one, but I do know somebody who worked for them. I'd be interested in how they are.

I've stayed in 3 - Bradford, Heathrow and one in Germany in the Ruhr somewhere, I forget exactly where. They all followed a similar theme really - a bit tatty, clearly formerly a nice hotel from a 4* business brand* but a bit careworn, but generally at a very attractive price. I would stay with them again as long as the price stayed low, but I'd not pay more to stay with them than Premier Inn.

* Jurys Inn was basically posh Premier Inn ish - 4* business hotels but generally without the extra facilities the likes of Marriott have like pools and fancy gyms. Maybe in the same sort of area of business as Hilton Doubletree, mostly aimed at business customers. I stayed in the Glasgow one a couple of times and it was fine, though my preference is now the PI at Exhibition Centre (SECC) which is generally cheap and is a newer one so quite nice inside.

 

[CharlieSpotted]

Of course the real dregs of that situation are found with Britannia. But I believe they own them all, which is possibly why they lack funds to invest in them.

Britannia have just completed a significant refurbishment of their Victorian hotel in Wolverhampton, which had previously been used as an asylum hotel, so they are having some investment in those circumstances.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2ke0nk19e3o

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it will still be very poor.

 

[eyebrook1961]

AFAIK Leonardo are all owned. The core of the group is the Jurys Inn hotels which they bought in bulk, basically at the point when they were probably getting a bit too tatty to be "nice" hotels, but were too nice and often too well-located to let go to ruin. They've done some refurbishment - seem to be targeting a similar quality level to Premier Inn, but pushing slightly more on corporate travel than the consumer side. They're not a massive group though, and timing-wise they were only just starting to establish their thing was when Covid hit.

I've never actually stayed in one, but I do know somebody who worked for them. I'd be interested in how they are.

The 4 or 5 times we've stayed in the Middlesbrough Leonardo it was in a different room each time (as you'd imagine), but all were dated, tired looking and the bathrooms were not the cleanest. By far the best thing about the hotel was the breakfasts / breakfast room - lovely. Staff were friendly enough but the general standard of the hotel rooms lets things down.
The Boro hotel does have a pool, but have never used it ourselves. Pricewise the Leonardo seems to pretty much follow the city centre PI and HIE

 

[TheSmiths82]

I am going to Sheffield for the night in a few weeks time. I have a choice of hotels, The Travel Lodge central, Sheffield Angel Street, the Ibis, Ibis Budget and the Hilton Hampton. The Ibis Budget and TL are the cheapest at £46, the Premier in is £60 and Hilton is £64. One big plus of the TL is I can get a flexible rate for £50 which is a big selling point for me. Both PI and Hilton want a lot more for the flexible booking which makes it out of my price range.

I have stayed in both Ibis hotels before but wasn't too impressed with either from memory. The Ibis was in a slightly dodgy location to the point where the pub was in didn't think it was safe for me to walk back and got his taxi driver mate to drop me off for £5, (the metre said £12). I think the pub was a bit far out of town though. The other Ibis Budget I had an issue where the door was locked at night and I had to ring a mobile phone to get in. They had disabled the automatic card entry but the had been riots in the UK a week before so they said it was because of that, it might have been the Southport related riots.
I can't decide which hotel to book, but I am thinking the Hilton might be best, but won't be able to get a refund if I can't go. Has anybody got any insights to which one I should choose? Normally there is always a stand out hotel but I am struggling a bit with Sheffield. I have excluded the Easyhotel because it isn't any cheaper than the TL and has a 10am checkout time. Having late bar would be a bonus!.

 

[Kite159]

I am going to Sheffield for the night in a few weeks time. I have a choice of hotels, The Travel Lodge central, Sheffield Angel Street, the Ibis, Ibis Budget and the Hilton Hampton. The Ibis Budget and TL are the cheapest at £46, the Premier in is £60 and Hilton is £64. One big plus of the TL is I can get a flexible rate for £50 which is a big selling point for me. Both PI and Hilton want a lot more for the flexible booking which makes it out of my price range.
I have stayed in both Ibis hotels before

I wonder how long it will be until Travelodge hike the premium between their "Fixed" and "Flexible" rates to make more people book the "Semi-Flex" rate (no cancellation and a £12(?) fee to change the date).

Although it will be a sad day for me personally considering a good selling point is the flexibility to cancel the hotel at short notice if the weather is forecasted to be heavy rain/strong winds or my work shift changes from a 23:00 finish to a 03:00 finish like what happened last Saturday.

 

[TheSmiths82]

The 4 or 5 times we've stayed in the Middlesbrough Leonardo it was in a different room each time (as you'd imagine), but all were dated, tired looking and the bathrooms were not the cleanest. By far the best thing about the hotel was the breakfasts / breakfast room - lovely. Staff were friendly enough but the general standard of the hotel rooms lets things down.
The Boro hotel does have a pool, but have never used it ourselves. Pricewise the Leonardo seems to pretty much follow the city centre PI and HIE

I stayed in one in Liverpool a few years ago, it was about £20 more than a TL but I came away thinking I wish I had saved the £20 and stayed in the TL. It was OK, I it was a typical budget hotel with a few extra items in the bedroom. I have no need for a Corby Trouser Press!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 minutes ago ==

I wonder how long it will be until Travelodge hike the premium between their "Fixed" and "Flexible" rates to make more people book the "Semi-Flex" rate (no cancellation and a £12(?) fee to change the date).

Although it will be a sad day for me personally considering a good selling point is the flexibility to cancel the hotel at short notice if the weather is forecasted to be heavy rain/strong winds or my work shift changes from a 23:00 finish to a 03:00 finish like what happened last Saturday.

They seem to be already doing it For one night the the fee isn't much different but for two or three in a place like London the difference can be significant. The Semi flex seems rather pointless especially as my job means I have no flexibility of when I go.

 

[Bletchleyite]

They seem to be already doing it For one night the the fee isn't much different but for two or three in a place like London the difference can be significant. The Semi flex seems rather pointless especially as my job means I have no flexibility of when I go.

Semi flex is roughly equivalent to Premier Inn's standard rate except they don't charge a fee and refund the difference if the new date is cheaper. It is useful for leisure purposes if one wants to reschedule a trip but is pretty certain to take it at some point. It's the one I tend to choose - risking completely losing money unless it's an utter bargain doesn't seem sensible.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 minutes ago ==

I stayed in one in Liverpool a few years ago, it was about £20 more than a TL but I came away thinking I wish I had saved the £20 and stayed in the TL. It was OK, I it was a typical budget hotel with a few extra items in the bedroom. I have no need for a Corby Trouser Press!

Those will just have been there from its former business hotel life. Removing them would cost more than keeping them!