Premier Inn agrees to stop claiming to be largest hotel brand in London
Premier Inn, the UK's largest budget hotel company, has agreed to stop claiming that it is the largest hotel operator in London, following talks with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The company was reported to the ASA by its bitter rival Travelodge in connection with adverts in which Premier Inn appealed to developers and landowners to help them expand the company, in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics and beyond.
Travelodge challenged the claims made by Premier Inn that it was the largest hotel operator in the capital with 5,500 bedrooms.
However, it appears that Premier Inn had been counting the number of rooms within the M25, rather than just in the City of London and the 32 London boroughs.
A spokeswoman for Whitbread, owners of the Premier Inn brand, said: "Following an informal and confidential discussion with the ASA we have agreed to provide greater clarity in future."
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Travelodge said that it intended to be the largest hotel brand in London by the time of the Olympics, with more than 7,000 bedrooms.
Travelodge hits out as Premier Inn's claim to be the largest hotel brand in London >>
ASA raps Travelodge for misleading ads >>
ASA slams Premier inn ad as misleading >>
By Janet Harmer
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