The advertising watchdog has upheld a complaint against easyJet Holidays over misleading claims on the website, such as advertising “delicious cuisine” when a hotel’s restaurant was closed.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) supported complaints that the website for easyJet Holidays, the brand name for an arrangement between easyJet and Lowcostbeds.com, claimed that guests could “sample some delicious cuisine in the hotel’s restaurant” together with a picture of the restaurant, but it was closed during the complainant’s stay at the Marinem Diana hotel .
Other complaints included advertising that the rooms had a minibar when they only stocked bottled water, references to tennis, billiards, a Jacuzzi and a fitness centre when the hotel didn’t have any of these features, as well as a claim that the hotel was around 14 km from the heart of Kemer city in Turkey, which the complainant says was actually around 21 km.
Another complaint was about the description and pictures of the accommodation, with the complainant saying that the rooms and communal areas were not finished to a high standard during their stay.
The ASA upheld all five complaints, saying that although the ad did not list the contents of the mini bar, the watchdog considered that “without further information, the average consumer would expect it to be stocked with a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Because we understood that this was not the case, we concluded that the claim that the rooms at the hotel had mini bars was misleading”.
Lowcostbeds, responding to the complaint on behalf of easyJet Holidays, had argued that hotel mini bars in Turkey usually stocked water, soft drinks and in some cases beer and pointed out that the ad did not specify the contents of the mini bar. They stated that the Marinem Diana hotel stocked bottled water in its mini bars, which was provided free of charge, and that if guests wanted additional drinks they could have requested those from the hotel’s room service.
Regarding the facilities which weren’t on offer, the watchdog said that the ad implied these facilities were available, and it welcomed Lowcostbeds’ willingness to amend their marketing communications to reflect the current situation.
The complainant showed the ASA photos of the hotel, noting the faulty air conditions and exposed wires where the TV should have been, a banister railing that wasn’t attached to the wall and cardboard boxes left in the corridor outside the room.
Lowcostbeds acknowledged faults with the complainant’s room, and the ASA said the description and pictures of the accommodation in the ad were misleading.
The ASA found that the distance between the hotel and Kemer was around 18 km, so the claims about it being only 14 km were said to be misleading, and also said that Lowcostbeds had not provided evidence demonstrating that the restaurant featured in the ad was generally open to guests.
The watchdog said the advert must not appear in its current form again, and told Lowcostbeds to ensure they could substantiate its claims in the future.