A Secret Escapes advert claiming an up to 46% ‘time-limited” hotel discount has been banned as misleading.
The advertising watchdog ruled against the £233 to £135 promotion for a room at a hotel in Bournemouth seen in September last year.
A consumer had challenged whether the discount offer was misleading and could be substantiated.
The Advertising Standards Authority, upholding the compliant, said: “Because the percentage discount had not been calculated against the standard price of the hotel room, and the presentation of the ‘from’ price and the percentage discount suggested they related to the same figure, we concluded that the savings claims were misleading.
“The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Secret Escapes to ensure that price comparisons were not misleading, for example through the addition of the cost of extra benefits to a comparative price.
“We also told them to make the basis of price comparisons clear in their advertising.”
Secret Escapes highlighted that the ad included two icons, located near the ‘from’ price and percentage discount saving, which, when hovered over, displayed further information explaining how each was calculated.
The company stated the text directed customers to an ‘Offer Details’ button which, when clicked on, included a list of the relevant included benefits.
Secret Escapes told the ASA that it took transparent pricing practices seriously, and had reviewed the website following the complaint to ensure that promotions were clear to consumers.
The explanatory wording next to the ‘up to’ and ‘from’ offers had been amended to make it clear that the value of additional benefits was included in the calculated discount.
It noted that it had already planned a review of the presentation of prices, and was happy to work with the ASA in the future to ensure consumers were not misled.