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The Independent UK

Travel

Helen Coffey

Hotel chain named the UK’s worst for 11th year running

United Kingdom Mercure Travelodge Britannia Which Premier Inn Hotel Indigo

Britannia has been named the worst hotel chain in the UK for the 11th year in a row.

The brand, which has more than 60 properties across the country, came bottom of the pack in 16th place in Which?’s annual survey of more tha 5,000 respondents.

It scored an “abysmal” overall customer satisfaction rating of 48 per cent, according to Which?, with those surveyed giving it just one star (out of five) for bedrooms, bathrooms and the quality of the wifi.

Britannia scored no higher than two stars in each of the remaining seven categories, including cleanliness, value for money and customer service.

Each chain was given a star-rating across the aforementioned criteria plus breakfast, bed comfort, communal areas and decor, and ‘description matches reality, and awarded an overall customer satisfaction percentage. The survey also highlighted the average price per night of a stay, and split brands into two sections for comparison: large hotel chains and small hotel chains.

Travelodge and Mercure came just above Britannia with a satisfaction score of 56 per cent each, though Mercure garnered higher star ratings across two categories (three in breakfast and wifi two Travelodge’s two and one stars respectively).

On the other end of the spectrum, Hotel Indigo and Hub by Premier Inn achieved the highest satisfaction rating of 77 per cent in the “large hotel chains” section, with Premier Inn coming in third place with 75 per cent.

In the “small hotel chains” category, top place went to Blend Collection, with 80 per cent, while Village Hotels’ score of 55 per cent saw it down at the bottom of the table.

A spokesperson for Travelodge told the Daily Mail: “Travelodge is investing significantly in our UK portfolio to deliver a high-quality, premium look and feel hotel design and a great value for money proposition to our customers. This hotel refit programme is Travelodge’s most significant brand transformation to date and is well underway across the country, with approximately £45m being invested this year to update our hotels.

“We take our guest feedback very seriously and are sorry to hear that the Which? reviewers did not receive our normal high-quality service.”

A spokesperson for Mercure said: “Our position in this survey doesn’t reflect the standard of guest experience we strive for, and we will of course look into the feedback and make any improvements we can to ensure the experience, safety, and wellbeing of our guests at each property is of the high standard they deserve.

“However, the results of this survey, which are based on 129 guests who had visited a Mercure, do not reflect either the 93 per cent of mentions that are positive about our service friendliness from TrustYou data based on over 14,000 independent reviews on Tripadvisor and other platforms; or our guest feedback, based on nearly 100,000 annual reviews, which scores Mercure at 85.6 per cent for its staff, while also exceeding the overall Which? customer score by a significant amount.

“Regardless of this, we take all feedback constructively. We are aware that there are improvements to be made and we will always endeavour to deliver an outstanding experience for our guests.”

Britannia did not respond to a request for comment.

“With prices at many hotels rising further this year, finding good value, budget accommodation is increasingly difficult.,” said Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel. “For those looking for a reasonably priced stay, there are big differences between the best and worst chains, with the likes of Premier Inn and Wetherspoons distinguishing themselves from the pack.

“When you’re booking your next trip, make sure to take time to research your options carefully, and read reviews from a range of sources to see what other guests thought of their stay.”