Hotel Chains Discussion

[WizCastro197]

It was nearly all families, they were all lovely in the lifts. It made me sad more than anything.

Hmm.


They aren't as bad as the Conservatives say, they are still people after all.

 

[Russel]

I had a weekend in Glasgow last month and stopped in Glasgow Central Travelodge, I previously stayed there about 5 years ago and it was freshly refurbished and generally quite nice, this time round was a bit of a let-down, it seems it's not seen any maintenance since it's refurb and it desperately needs a deep clean.

Breakfast was also a farce, good selection but unfortunately the baked beans had gone cold, I told one of the staff who replaced the vat of beans, I got a fresh plate, sat down to eat, only to find these beans were also stone cold!

Also, Scotland must have solved the cost-of-living crisis, I like a cold room to sleep in so left the windows open all day while I was out, I came back to find the cleaners had left the windows open but decided to put the heater on for me, this isn't only wasteful, but it also meant the room was far too hot to get comfortable.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I had a weekend in Glasgow last month and stopped in Glasgow Central Travelodge, I previously stayed there about 5 years ago and it was freshly refurbished and generally quite nice, this time round was a bit of a let-down, it seems it's not seen any maintenance since it's refurb and it desperately needs a deep clean.

That's the trouble with Travelodge - they skimp on maintenance and cleaning, so a recent refurb is OK but an older one is generally very bad.

Also, Scotland must have solved the cost-of-living crisis, I like a cold room to sleep in so left the windows open all day while I was out, I came back to find the cleaners had left the windows open but decided to put the heater on for me, this isn't only wasteful, but it also meant the room was far too hot to get comfortable.

I don't entirely understand why TL use those individual panel heaters. They are incredibly expensive to run - at typical rates, a single 2kW panel heater will cost more to run than gas central heating for an entire house.

 

[Silver Cobra]

Are Travelodge the only one of the 'budget' hotel chains who charge for wi-fi these days (beyond the 30 minutes you get for free)? I recently stayed at the Ibis in Hull where wi-fi was complimentary throughout my stay, so it'd got me thinking about this. I've not stayed at Premier Inn or Holiday Inn so I don't know whether they charge for it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Are Travelodge the only one of the 'budget' hotel chains who charge for wi-fi these days (beyond the 30 minutes you get for free)? I recently stayed at the Ibis in Hull where wi-fi was complimentary throughout my stay, so it'd got me thinking about this. I've not stayed at Premier Inn or Holiday Inn so I don't know whether they charge for it.

There's a free and a paid option at Premier Inn. I find the free one is so slow as to be useless (it'd be fine for a kid browsing on a tablet or a quick check of Realtime Trains but not a lot more), so I either use my phone or if I don't have a signal have to pay.


The paid option isn't outrageously expensive to be fair to them.

 

[edwin_m]

That's the trouble with Travelodge - they skimp on maintenance and cleaning, so a recent refurb is OK but an older one is generally very bad.



I don't entirely understand why TL use those individual panel heaters. They are incredibly expensive to run - at typical rates, a single 2kW panel heater will cost more to run than gas central heating for an entire house.

An electric heater is 100% efficient, and it will have a thermostat so won't be using 2kW most of the time (unless someone leaves the window open as mentioned above). I don't think I've ever felt cold in a Travelodge (a hot day in one without aircon is a much bigger problem), so I imagine they put in a good amount of insulation.

A gas system might turn out to be more efficient overall, but only if the lower price per kW outweighs the efficiently losses in the boiler and pipework. It also creates extra maintenance liability, and if it fails it renders the entire hotel useless, where an electric heater problem only affects one room (though the same would apply if they use gas to produce hot water). They probably also have to run it 24/7/365 in case someone wants it, and efficiency will be far lower if most of the radiators are turned off but hot water still has to be circulated round the whole building.

 

[Bletchleyite]

An electric heater is 100% efficient, and it will have a thermostat so won't be using 2kW most of the time (unless someone leaves the window open as mentioned above). I don't think I've ever felt cold in a Travelodge (a hot day in one without aircon is a much bigger problem), so I imagine they put in a good amount of insulation.

A gas system might turn out to be more efficient overall, but only if the lower price per kW outweighs the efficiently losses in the boiler and pipework. It also creates extra maintenance liability, and if it fails it renders the entire hotel useless, where an electric heater problem only affects one room (though the same would apply if they use gas to produce hot water). They probably also have to run it 24/7/365 in case someone wants it, and efficiency will be far lower if most of the radiators are turned off but hot water still has to be circulated round the whole building.

This misses a key point, namely that gas is massively cheaper per kWh than electricity.

If they cost the same, or even close to the same, electric heating would be the norm in houses and nobody would have a gas boiler.

 

[Blindtraveler]

A Facebook group I assist in running has a Travelodge manager in it and and we had a very interesting off topic side discussion a few days ago and during this he said that the electric panel heaters are truly awful and and that even without the hyped energy prices of the present-day, the difference between the summer and winter consumption of his hotel is 4 figures per month, the one he works in has as no gas but it does have solar panels to assist with hot water but the solar panels are not linked to the circuit that drives the in room heating. They have experimented with multiple different types and brands of heaters with different kinds of controls but they all still drink energy. I have two of these panel heaters in my flat and they only ever get used in extreme circumstances for the same reason

 

[jon0844]

Different brands of heater will of course make no difference (yes, even Dyson!).

The heat output is always the same and the only way they could save money is improved insulation - and controls to stop people just leaving the heaters on etc.

 

[island]

Ibis Styles can be hugely variable. They're a mixed bunch of franchised properties not really properly integrated into the Ibis consistency, a bit like say "Best" Western but not as bad. Very much depends on how good the local operator is. The rest of the Accor estate (i.e. Ibis Budget/"Red"/Novotel etc) are a bit more like Maccy D's in terms of ensuring consistency even if some of them may be franchised.

Each of the main hotel megagroups has one brand that is a light-touch on brand standards for various reasons. Hilton has DoubleTree, for example, and Marriott has Delta. In IHG it’s Indigo.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Each of the main hotel megagroups has one brand that is a light-touch on brand standards for various reasons. Hilton has DoubleTree, for example, and Marriott has Delta. In IHG it’s Indigo.

Yes, true, in Travelodge it's, er, Travelodge. And from experience I would say for IHG it's also HI Express - these seem all quite tatty. And Best Western must be up there with Robinson's Best Bitter - I hate to think what their worst would be like.

I've noticed that Marriott are moving pretty much all their UK properties into Delta, which doesn't bode well for their future.

 

[edwin_m]

Each of the main hotel megagroups has one brand that is a light-touch on brand standards for various reasons. Hilton has DoubleTree, for example, and Marriott has Delta. In IHG it’s Indigo.

Happened to stay in consecutive weeks recently in Indigos in Liverpool and Dubai. Absolutely no comparison...

And from experience I would say for IHG it's also HI Express - these seem all quite tatty.

The newer ones are usually pretty good, but the upkeep on the older ones can be variable. Probably they need a bit more oversight of their franchisees.

 

[nlogax]

Hope you've taken the opportunity to try some new Canadian brand of doughnuts where Pizza Hut used to be. Fosse park has some alright shops as well.

Hah, thank you for this. TH's was a lifesaver yesterday morning and I was happy to learn my favourite coffee place was right next door.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The newer ones are usually pretty good, but the upkeep on the older ones can be variable. Probably they need a bit more oversight of their franchisees.

I think that's an issue across the industry, to be honest. I reckon most people don't twig just how many hotels are franchised operations. Some are worse than others, though, e.g. Best Western is pretty dire and little more than a booking network and shared brand mostly for tired-looking hotels formerly of another brand, while in the food industry you'd only know a McD's was franchised by reading the company ownership plate thing which is usually somewhere by the counter.

Apparently no Premier Inns are franchised, which is surprising as some of them can be a bit inconsistent at times! Clearly that shows just how much difference local management makes.

Travelodge do franchise, though.

 

[Tetchytyke]

And from experience I would say for IHG it's also HI Express - these seem all quite tatty

Yeah, I'd agree with that. Although Hotel Indigo can be a bit weird, although it's really only the Liverpool one that's outright terrible.

For Hilton group, I'd say the Hampton by Hilton brand is the most variable. The one in Liverpool is fantastic. The one in Newcastle is crap.

 

[ChrisC]

I think that's an issue across the industry, to be honest. I reckon most people don't twig just how many hotels are franchised operations. Some are worse than others, though, e.g. Best Western is pretty dire and little more than a booking network and shared brand mostly for tired-looking hotels formerly of another brand, while in the food industry you'd only know a McD's was franchised by reading the company ownership plate thing which is usually somewhere by the counter.

And Best Western must be up there with Robinson's Best Bitter - I hate to think what their worst would be like.

I think the comments regarding Best Western are too much of a generalisation and certainly not true about many of their hotels. I am very aware that there are some terrible dire Best Western Hotels but there also many very good ones. Many of the best ones rarely appear on the list when you do a search of an area for specific dates because they are regularly fully booked, often by returning guests who have been staying there for years. Doesn’t that indicate that there are some very good ones.

The problem with Best Western, being a network of mainly privately owned hotels, is they are very inconsistent and there is a danger that you could book yourself into a terrible one. I always do lots of research and read lots of reviews and have fortunately over the years managed to avoid the bad ones. Over the last 3 years, due to Covid, their reward scheme has been extremely generous and I have been upgraded to their top level after only a few stays. I have received some lovely room upgrades and enough points to book half a dozen free nights.

Last week I stayed for 3 nights in the Best Western Bull Hotel in Peterborough which was a lovely hotel. Other excellent ones I’ve stayed in are The Forest and Vale in Pickering, The Angel in Chippenham, Bank House near Worcester, The Burlington in Folkestone, York House in Eastbourne, The Station Hotel in Dumfries, The Midland Hotel in Bradford. Kenwick Park near Louth.
Fairly average ones that I have stayed in have been New Kent in Jesmond Newcastle, Rose and Crown in Colchester, The Clifton in Folkestone and The Valley in Ironbridge. These have been a bit old fashioned and tired but perfectly warm and clean and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay again.

I can’t comment on the really bad ones, and I know that they exist, as I have managed to avoid them.

 

[WestCoast]

Happened to stay in consecutive weeks recently in Indigos in Liverpool and Dubai. Absolutely no comparison...

Well, even Premier Inn hotels in Dubai have swimming pools, gyms and mini-fridges with bottled water in every room, at least the one I stayed in had!

 

[trebor79]

Against my better judgement I stayed in an Ibis Budget on Wednesday night. I knew it would be rubbish but...
It was a modern building, but the walls AND CEILING were covered in woodchip wallpaper! Do they go out of their way to make them horrible to fit with the "budget" brand?
Heating didn't work, didn't mind that as I like a cold bedroom, but it smelled mouldy/damp as a result.

 

[AlterEgo]

Yes, true, in Travelodge it's, er, Travelodge. And from experience I would say for IHG it's also HI Express - these seem all quite tatty. And Best Western must be up there with Robinson's Best Bitter - I hate to think what their worst would be like.

I've noticed that Marriott are moving pretty much all their UK properties into Delta, which doesn't bode well for their future.

Yes Delta is the sub brand for “not sure this hotel really fits the portfolio, no idea what to do with it”. As @island points out Doubletree is Hilton’s equivalent.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes Delta is the sub brand for “not sure this hotel really fits the portfolio, no idea what to do with it”. As @island points out Doubletree is Hilton’s equivalent.

Though they have opened brand new Doubletrees. The MK Stadium one, for example.

 

[johntea]

I stayed in the Ibis "Budget" near Schipol airport when I went to Amsterdam in March 2020 (fantastic timing that was!) and found it perfectly acceptable for the price paid (Just looking back now €164.66 for a 3 night Friday/Saturday/Sunday stay although I guess people may have been put off travel and hotel stays around that time)

Despite the rooms being your basic Travelodge style the lobby and reception area felt like you were in a 5 star hotel, perhaps that is a standard EU thing as I remember staying in a Belgian hotel once which also felt 'posh'!

It was also nice of them to provide a regular free shuttle bus to and from the airport but I guess that is just a standard 'hotel catering for airport' perk, it did a loop of several other hotels all in the same area

The panel heaters never feel like they're kicking out much heat but from experience you'll probably be colder in a furnace should you accidentally leave it on then pop out for the day!

 

[317 forever]

That's the trouble with Travelodge - they skimp on maintenance and cleaning, so a recent refurb is OK but an older one is generally very bad.



I don't entirely understand why TL use those individual panel heaters. They are incredibly expensive to run - at typical rates, a single 2kW panel heater will cost more to run than gas central heating for an entire house.

Conversely, when I stayed at Travelodge in Loughborough 3 weeks ago I was relieved that it was not too warm, as tends to happen with Premier Inn.

Admittedly I did then go to PI for breakfast but did not mention eachother's hotels to anyone.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Conversely, when I stayed at Travelodge in Loughborough 3 weeks ago I was relieved that it was not too warm, as tends to happen with Premier Inn.

I usually whack the aircon on, set to 19 degrees and put some other card in the thing so it stays on while I am not there to bring the temperature down.

In some older PIs they have the same type of heater (I think this is just pre merger Travel Inns with this setup) and they are normally attached to a programmable thermostat which turns it back off every couple of hours, notably. Avoids them just being left on.

Admittedly I did then go to PI for breakfast but did not mention eachother's hotels to anyone.

It is handy that you can just walk in to a PI for breakfast. They don't publicise it but as long as it isn't heaving they are generally happy to take your money, particularly in the ones where it is served in a pub where you can even book a time without being a guest, via the pub website.

 

[317 forever]

I usually whack the aircon on, set to 19 degrees and put some other card in the thing so it stays on while I am not there to bring the temperature down.

In some older PIs they have the same type of heater (I think this is just pre merger Travel Inns with this setup) and they are normally attached to a programmable thermostat which turns it back off every couple of hours, notably. Avoids them just being left on.



It is handy that you can just walk in to a PI for breakfast. They don't publicise it but as long as it isn't heaving they are generally happy to take your money, particularly in the ones where it is served in a pub where you can even book a time without being a guest, via the pub website.

Indeed, it was not unduly busy being 7.15 on a Saturday.

Conversely, I stayed at a Premier Inn the weekend the clocks went forward which also coincided with Mother's Day. I had breakfast comparatively late, and it was really busy with families then.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I found that it doesn't seem to matter if you take the card out, the air conditioning still seems to operate at most Premier inns however it's if you want to leave stuff on charge that it really has as an impact I find. I'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to work or not but equally didn't realise you can use another card in the thing. Also didn't realise that Premier inns in house restaurants would allow you to walk-in and breakfast. Obviously this is is the case in ones where they are in the pub next door as they advertised the service but was unaware that you could do it at concepts such as thyme restaurant

 

[AlterEgo]

I found that it doesn't seem to matter if you take the card out, the air conditioning still seems to operate at most Premier inns however it's if you want to leave stuff on charge that it really has as an impact I find. I'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to work or not but equally didn't realise you can use another card in the thing. Also didn't realise that Premier inns in house restaurants would allow you to walk-in and breakfast. Obviously this is is the case in ones where they are in the pub next door as they advertised the service but was unaware that you could do it at concepts such as thyme restaurant

Yes this is one of those little life hacks. Any credit card sized thing will work in those readers for the air con and power!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes this is one of those little life hacks. Any credit card sized thing will work in those readers for the air con and power!

Though normally a CCST train ticket is too thin and bends too much to activate the microswitch. Several stacked together works, though, as does any other plastic card in your wallet you might not need when you pop out.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Just don't use your Railcard for it unless you only plan popping as far as the nearest Tesco or in-house bar restaurant

 

[superalbs]

Yes this is one of those little life hacks. Any credit card sized thing will work in those readers for the air con and power!

Annoyingly some hotels require the actual room key!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Annoyingly some hotels require the actual room key!

I have never come across one that did. They are just a box with a switch in it.

Of course you can always ask for two keys