Hotel Chains Discussion

[Bletchleyite]

Yes, Premier Inn seems to have higher prices on Fridays and Saturdays compared to some other chains.

That's because they're primarily a leisure business, so those are their busiest two days!

 

[philjo]

Not sure of the reason but Premier Inn is currently not listed in our corporate travel agent so we can’t use PI if travelling for work. So the preferred default option now seems to be Ibis though they are not always in the right locations.

 

[DelayRepay]

Yes, Premier Inn seems to have higher prices on Fridays and Saturdays compared to some other chains.
Back in March I was looking at booking a Saturday night in Leeds in October. Premier inn was showing £150 for 1 night once breakfast had been added. This was 6 months before the travel date!
I got a Dinner bed and breakfast rate about £20 cheaper elsewhere.

I wonder if they get away with this because people default to them thinking they're cheap but decent quality?

I may be wrong but I don't think they appear on the likes of Expedia? So I imagine a lot of people go straight to the PI website rather than checking what other hotels are available.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Not sure of the reason but Premier Inn is currently not listed in our corporate travel agent so we can’t use PI if travelling for work. So the preferred default option now seems to be Ibis though they are not always in the right locations.

PI (like Ryanair, and for that matter Direct Line Insurance) don't think it suits their business model to be in the aggregators, because they'd prefer people think "PI=cheap" and go straight to them by default.

My personal approach is generally:
1. Search PI first (or Motel One if there is one)
2. If there's no PI in the preferred location, it's full or it's more than £100 per night (or £120 when I know it's really busy), do a booking.com* search and see what that offers
3. If everything is really expensive, grit teeth and try Travelodge

While I've not been abroad since 2019 my way with airlines is similar - first see if easyJet do it from Luton or Gatwick, if not try one of the aggregators to see about a full service airline, if not then see if it's worth putting up with Ryanair or Wizz.

* Aggregators are much of a muchness but it's fairly easy to get status which unlocks minor benefits like free breakfasts and small discounts, so it's worth picking one and sticking with it.

 

[DelayRepay]

Not sure of the reason but Premier Inn is currently not listed in our corporate travel agent so we can’t use PI if travelling for work. So the preferred default option now seems to be Ibis though they are not always in the right locations.

We have the same except our preferred choice seems to be Jurys Inn. Even if Premier Inn is cheaper and more convenient, I cannot use them for work.

 

[Bletchleyite]

We have the same except our preferred choice seems to be Jurys Inn. Even if Premier Inn is cheaper and more convenient, I cannot use them for work.

Businesses cutting off nose to spite face there. I do know they like aggregators, but when I've worked for companies that did that there was generally a rule of "if you can get cheaper direct, it can be used with line manager permission provided you show a screenshot of both sites to prove it's cheaper when submitting your expenses".

 

[DelayRepay]

Businesses cutting off nose to spite face there. I do know they like aggregators, but when I've worked for companies that did that there was generally a rule of "if you can get cheaper direct, it can be used with line manager permission provided you show a screenshot of both sites to prove it's cheaper when submitting your expenses".

No such rule here. I remember running up £60 in taxi fares to get back and forth between the approved hotel and the office I was visiting, even though there was a Premier Inn next door to the office that was cheaper.

We also have a strange rule that if you're staying in a hotel, you have to breakfast in the hotel and cannot buy it elsewhere. This can result in the company paying £10+ even though the employee only wants a slice of toast.

 

[ChrisC]

I've noticed that the price gap between the budget hotels- especially Premier Inn- and the midrange full service hotels has decreased. I've stayed in Leeds and Liverpool recently and the Crowne Plaza hasn't been much more than the Premier Inn.

I have IHG platinum (I got it for a 5-night stay in Newcastle in October last year, due to a special offer) and so, for now, the perks from the membership justify the small extra cost.

Exactly the same here. I’ve always mainly stayed in Premier Inns but over the last few years have not used them so much. I haven’t stayed in one now since last September. Over this past year I’ve used various IHG group hotels including Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza and also a number of Best Western Hotels. If Premier Inn are charging around £100 for a night I’d rather pay the same price to stay somewhere a little better. I’ve also now got IHG Platinum after only a few stays and Best Western Diamond. The points I have already accumulated over the last few years will actually get me a number of free nights. I’m staying at the Crowne Plaza in Birmingham for a few nights later this week whereas in the past I stayed at the New Street Premier Inn.

 

[philjo]

We have had similar where the corporate booking included breakfast in a travelodge. It one of those where you just got a box of cereal/yoghurt and sterilised milk.
So £5 wasted there! My colleague and I crossed the road and bought breakfast at the premier inn next door and reclaimed that on expenses.
For Accor and Hilton I think we get the bed and breakfast rate automatically at the same room only price that is showing on their main website.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Exactly the same here. I’ve always mainly stayed in Premier Inns but over the last few years have not used them so much. I haven’t stayed in one now since last September. Over this past year I’ve used various IHG group hotels including Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza and also a number of Best Western Hotels. If Premier Inn are charging around £100 for a night I’d rather pay the same price to stay somewhere a little better. I’ve also now got IHG Platinum after only a few stays and Best Western Diamond. The points I have already accumulated over the last few years will actually get me a number of free nights. I’m staying at the Crowne Plaza in Birmingham for a few nights later this week whereas in the past I stayed at the New Street Premier Inn.

My experience of Best Western is that the management of the brand is very, very weak, and thus I'd want to read reviews of the specific property before booking into one. Some can be very, very good, while some can be utterly terrible and worse than a Travelodge. The one in Douglas on the Isle of Man was, when I stayed there for a wedding 5-6 years ago, in the "terrible" bracket. It depends entirely on how good the owner and local management are.

I think the best way to think about BW is not a hotel chain but a bookings alliance of independent hotels.

While most chains have some level of franchising, most of them are managed more consistently and so you'd not know you were in a franchised hotel unless you read e.g. the plaque on the reception showing who owns it. More like say McDonald's where the experience is largely fully consistent whether it's an owned or franchised restaurant you're eating in.

 

[D6130]

We have the same except our preferred choice seems to be Jurys Inn.

Not entirely relevant to the gist of the thread, but the rearward-facing rooms in the Jury's Inn in Glasgow have wonderful views over the platform ends and station throat of Glasgow Central, with great photo and video opportunities. Likewise the Leeds city centre travelodge has similar views across the East end - admittedly the quieter end - of Leeds station. I'm tempted to start a new thread about hotels and B & Bs with interesting railway views.

I think the best way to think about BW is not a hotel chain but a bookings alliance of independent hotels.

Yes....it seems to be a franchise-type operation - similar to Spar shops. I stayed in the one in Fort William 5-6 years ago and it was absolutely dire.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes....it seems to be a franchise-type operation - similar to Spar shops. I stayed in the one in Fort William 5-6 years ago and it was absolutely dire.

Only hotel I've stayed in in FW is the Travelodge and I found it pretty good, and there's a nice Spoons directly underneath to provide the "restaurant".

(I've stayed in the SYHA hostel down the road too and that was fine)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Aug 2022 ==

Not entirely relevant to the gist of the thread, but the rearward-facing rooms in the Jury's Inn in Glasgow have wonderful views over the platform ends and station throat of Glasgow Central, with great photo and video opportunities. Likewise the Leeds city centre travelodge has similar views across the East end - admittedly the quieter end - of Leeds station. I'm tempted to start a new thread about hotels and B & Bs with interesting railway views.

Do it. Cambridge Ibis is good for that, you can lie on your bed with the window open and listen to the railway melee. Really nice new one too.

 

[ChrisC]

My experience of Best Western is that the management of the brand is very, very weak, and thus I'd want to read reviews of the specific property before booking into one. Some can be very, very good, while some can be utterly terrible and worse than a Travelodge. The one in Douglas on the Isle of Man was, when I stayed there for a wedding 5-6 years ago, in the "terrible" bracket. It depends entirely on how good the owner and local management are.

I think the best way to think about BW is not a hotel chain but a bookings alliance of independent hotels.

While most chains have some level of franchising, most of them are managed more consistently and so you'd not know you were in a franchised hotel unless you read e.g. the plaque on the reception showing who owns it. More like say McDonald's where the experience is largely fully consistent whether it's an owned or franchised restaurant you're eating in.

Absolutely agree with everything you say about Best Western. I always do lots of research and read loads of reviews before I book a Best Western Hotel. By doing that, so far I’ve managed to avoid any really bad ones, and have stayed in some fantastic Best Western Hotels. Some of the exceptionally good ones that I have stayed in I would like to return to but so often are completely booked up. That seems to indicate how popular and good some of them are. I do know that there are also some very bad Best Western Hotels. It’s been good to support some of the better ones which really did need the trade following covid lockdowns.

 

[telstarbox]

On this subject I'm looking at a possible European trip via 4 cities in different countries (probably 10 nights all in). Is it worth signing up with a chain loyalty scheme for this? In the UK I usually use Premier Inn so I don't have status with anyone currently.

 

[BrandanM]

Only hotel I've stayed in in FW is the Travelodge and I found it pretty good, and there's a nice Spoons directly underneath to provide the "restaurant".

The Fort William Premier Inn is fine too. Stayed there in 2018, the year I did 'The Three Peaks' (not the 24 hour challenge BTW!).

It was quite expensive compared to some of their other hotels, but it's in a desirable location.

 

[D6130]

if I remember correctly it's also their most northerly one too.

Afraid not! They have one in Aviemore, four in Inverness, four in Aberdeen and one at Dyce for Aberdeen Airport.

 

[bspahh]

On this subject I'm looking at a possible European trip via 4 cities in different countries (probably 10 nights all in). Is it worth signing up with a chain loyalty scheme for this? In the UK I usually use Premier Inn so I don't have status with anyone currently.

For the initial search there is the balance between the price and location. If you use search Google Maps for the location and hotel (perhaps Paris hotel or "Gare du Nord" hotel). You can then enter the dates when you want to travel and some simple filters.

This way you can see if there are hotels in your price range in a convenient location. Its also easy to then see how long it will take to get there from the airport or station where you are going to arrive.

If everything is too expensive, then you need to expand the search radius. It might be better to stay somewhere in the suburbs with good transport links. For example in Paris, hotels in the city centre are about twice the price of the ones at Massy Palaiseau, which is 40 minutes away on RER B.

Then when it comes to book places, instead of using rewards directly on the WWW sites for the hotels, I prefer to use a cashback site like www.topcashback.co.uk and www.quidco.com, and search for "hotel" there. Then you can book at places like www.hotels.com www.ebookers.com and www.expedia.com and get a percentage cashback. Each of those sites basically uses the same infrastructure. The prices are usually the same that you would get directly from the hotel's own WWW site. If I'm travelling for work, and the hotel's own WWW site is cheaper, then I would go for that. The exact cashback rate varies between 6-12% of the pre-tax price. You also get some rewards like 1 free night after 10 stays from hotels.com

To get the cashback sites to work, you need to make sure that you pass on the cookies to the site where you book the hotel. I normally use Chrome for day-to-day browsing, but book things from www.topcashback.co.uk using Microsoft Edge, and www.quidco.com with Firefox. With those, I will click Accept for all the cookies. If you use the same browser that you use for day-to-day browsing, there is a chance that you will have clicked a link that sets a cookie from another company (perhaps from Google Maps). This would mean that the cashback would be declined.

I then take a quick look at the hotel reviews at www.tripadvisor.com, sorting by the most recent ones. If all the reviews are bad, then I'll avoid it. I'll ignore complaints if its from someone who didn't do their homework - for example, moaning about the cost of parking for a city centre hotel.

When the hotels are busy, then sometimes there will be rooms available on the hotel's own WWW site that aren't available from Expedia/eBookers/hotels.com.

I prefer this approach to staying loyal to hotel brands, as it covers a much wider range of hotels to any single brand. If you only search for hotels in one site, then they will sort the hits so the ones that pay them the most money are at the top of the list.

 

[BrandanM]

Afraid not! They have one in Aviemore, four in Inverness, four in Aberdeen and one at Dyce for Aberdeen Airport.

Yes I stand corrected

I actually just double-checked that on the Premier Inn website straight after posting it and nipped back to edit my post!.

Alas too late

 

[Bertone]

Anyone stayed in a decent hotel that can be recommended within a short driving distance of the Bluebell Railway at Sheffield Park station?
Thanks

 

[Bletchleyite]

With regard to reviews I personally ignore the positive ones and read the 1 and 2 star ones to see if they were being muppets or likely had a point. Same when buying tat off Amazon.

 

[Silver Cobra]

I've been a semi-regular user of Travelodge over the past 6-7 years, usually involving a week-long stay in Lowestoft in the summer, a long weekend stay in a London-based branch for the MCM Comic Con at the ExCeL in the autumn, and a 3-4 night stay at either Blackpool, Scarborough or Scotland also in the summer. The main reason I chose them was price, as they would often be the most affordable of the bigger chains in the areas I wanted to stay in. Sure they only offered the basics in their rooms, but that was always enough for me for my stays.

However, this year is the first year in which I haven't used Travelodge for my summer break, instead choosing an independent hotel on the Lowestoft seafront. What influenced this decision was the huge jump in price that has happened with these lower-end hotel chains. Booking my stay back in March for the week I wanted in Lowestoft this summer, Travelodge were asking for over £550 for the cheapest rate (pay upfront and no refund possible). Up to this point I had never paid more than around £340 for a week-long stay (2020 being a big anomaly due to the pandemic where I was able to bag a stay with the full flexible refund policy for less than £180), and the idea of paying £550 for what Travelodge offers and with no refund possible wasn't appealing. After looking around at all the possible options in the area for something more affordable, I found the independent hotel asking for only £365 for the same length stay, complete with breakfast every day, free wi-fi and both the ability to cancel up to 6pm the night before arrival and paying on arrival rather than up-front included in the price (none of which Travelodge offers without paying additional for). I can say I definitely enjoyed my stay at this hotel, and have already placed a preliminary booking for next year with them (granted the cost has gone up by £10 per night for next year, but that's completely understandable and acceptable considering the cost-of-living crisis/inflation right now). As such, I would say my days of using Travelodge out that way are done.

It definitely feels like the pricing strategies for these hotel chains have gone completely nuts as of late. While Travelodge won't allow me to look as far in advance, checking Premier Inn for a 6-night stay in the Lowestoft/Great Yarmouth area for the same dates I've chosen with the independent hotel for 2023, even pretty much a year in advance they are asking for a minimum of £748 for this (so this would be pay fully up-front, no refunds possible and no other additional options). That kind of price just feels absolutely bonkers when you consider what you get in a room of these hotel chains.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The main thing that puts me off independent B&Bs and the likes is that they almost always have check-in only during certain hours. If I do a weekend away that I'm staying over for it's typically a long way from home and so arrival at 2300 or even later is an essential.

 

[SHD]

Bar exceptional cases of hellholes, I find that the content of one-star reviews tells more about the reviewer than the place reviewed!

 

[BrandanM]

Not entirely relevant to the gist of the thread, but the rearward-facing rooms in the Jury's Inn in Glasgow have wonderful views over the platform ends and station throat of Glasgow Central, with great photo and video opportunities. Likewise the Leeds city centre travelodge has similar views across the East end - admittedly the quieter end - of Leeds station. I'm tempted to start a new thread about hotels and B & Bs with interesting railway views.

Being just across the road, some of the higher level rooms at the Premier Inn Penzance must have pretty good views over the station and down the line to Long Rock I would imagine.

Unfortunately I got allocated a room on the opposite side of the hotel when staying there earlier this year

 

[Kite159]

The main thing that puts me off independent B&Bs and the likes is that they almost always have check-in only during certain hours. If I do a weekend away that I'm staying over for it's typically a long way from home and so arrival at 2300 or even later is an essential.

Agreed there (coming from someone who used to travel to a place on a Friday night), but sometimes it is a price you have to pay for independent places, unless they do "self-serve" check-in.

As for that Leeds Travelodge, yes it has views of the tracks in some roads, but it's not one for a light sleeper or somewhere to stay when it's warm as the points are noisy.

 

[Iskra]

I've stayed in a lot of Premier Inn's and generally find them very good and better than Travelodge. There's one or two that I wouldn't go back to, but overall they are very good. One of the good things about PI is that there is always some sort of restaurant, which you don't get with Travelodge which can be a pain if there is nothing nearby.

I can tolerate a Travelodge but I don't go out of my way to use them as they are just a bit too basic and spartan.

Some of my worst hotel stays have been Ibis budget (never again), Holiday Inn and Wetherspoons hotel.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Agreed there (coming from someone who used to travel to a place on a Friday night), but sometimes it is a price you have to pay for independent places, unless they do "self-serve" check-in.

Well, it isn't, just like poor hours and poor service aren't a price I have to pay for a local shop when Tesco Express or Co-op will offer me one without those features.

Small B&Bs are killing themselves by not offering what the customer wants (self check-in with a key safe works if they don't want to stay up).

 

[Cloud Strife]

Small B&Bs are killing themselves by not offering what the customer wants (self check-in with a key safe works if they don't want to stay up).

About 10 years ago, I stayed in one B&B, and I had a meeting that went on and on and on. We didn't finish until nearly midnight after starting at 9am, with breaks for lunch, dinner and a couple of pints along the way.

We were thrashing out a business deal and going over the details with a fine comb together, because we were on good terms and wanted the cooperation to be successful. The work was going smoothly, and it made more sense to just get it over and done with rather than going back to it on the next day.

Anyway, I got back to the B&B, only to find that the front door was locked. I rang the doorbell, and no answer. I tried calling them, and still no answer or response. So, I hammered on the door (because I wanted my bed after 14 hours of work!), and a very very grumpy landlady appeared. She started to shout at me for not obeying 'the rules' (what rules?) and that the curfew was 9pm (!!), although I hadn't agreed to any of this when booking or when checking in. She then tells me that she's going to fine me 50 quid for breaking the rules, and that she'd take it from my credit card.

She was absolutely bonkers, and it put me off ever staying in a B&B again. Thankfully, at least in Poland, the culture here is that every such facility will give keys to guests for the front door and the individual rooms.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Aug 2022 ==

The main thing that puts me off independent B&Bs and the likes is that they almost always have check-in only during certain hours. If I do a weekend away that I'm staying over for it's typically a long way from home and so arrival at 2300 or even later is an essential.

Exactly this, it happens with me that I'm arriving at some ridiculous time. I'd like to give small business owners my business, but they make it so, so difficult.

 

[DelayRepay]

About 10 years ago, I stayed in one B&B, and I had a meeting that went on and on and on. We didn't finish until nearly midnight after starting at 9am, with breaks for lunch, dinner and a couple of pints along the way.

We were thrashing out a business deal and going over the details with a fine comb together, because we were on good terms and wanted the cooperation to be successful. The work was going smoothly, and it made more sense to just get it over and done with rather than going back to it on the next day.

Anyway, I got back to the B&B, only to find that the front door was locked. I rang the doorbell, and no answer. I tried calling them, and still no answer or response. So, I hammered on the door (because I wanted my bed after 14 hours of work!), and a very very grumpy landlady appeared. She started to shout at me for not obeying 'the rules' (what rules?) and that the curfew was 9pm (!!), although I hadn't agreed to any of this when booking or when checking in. She then tells me that she's going to fine me 50 quid for breaking the rules, and that she'd take it from my credit card.

She was absolutely bonkers, and it put me off ever staying in a B&B again. Thankfully, at least in Poland, the culture here is that every such facility will give keys to guests for the front door and the individual rooms.

This is a reason I tend to avoid small B&Bs. If I'm travelling for leisure I often get back quite late (around midnight) and I don't want to find myself locked out or waking everyone up. At least with 'proper' hotels the worst that happens is having to use an intercom and wait outside for a few minutes while someone comes to unlock the door.

The last B&B I stayed in randomly decided not to serve breakfast on Monday because I was the only guest! My request for a refund caused some confusion as they only had a B&B rate, not a B without B rate so did not know how much to refund.

 

[WizCastro197]

Why is Chessington so overpriced? I get that you get free tickets but staying the night feels as if I am getting my money robbed off me? I can stay a whole night maybe 2 in a Marriott for that price? Somewhere with actual luxury

Aside from this I was recently looking on Travelodge and their new looks rooms look quite good, I hope many get upgraded by the end of next year so we can all say goodbye to the dingy rooms.