Dear Travelodge....

Swansea Central listed as being 38.3 miles away!! Great if you're a crow, fancy a long swim or own a fast boat!

That's the one for crows:D

Myarka.

LOL, last time I stayed in a Travelodge was on a night out in Blackpool (classy eh?). I got to the "hotel" with about 10 minutes to get ready to find the heating was off in our room (in December). When I turned it on, nothing happened and I could see my breath! I went to reception, was made to queue up again for 10 more minutes only to be told that I had to start the heating off low and gradually turn it up. Basically, I needed to stay in the room for 30 minutes fiddling with the heating before I could go out. They wouldn't change our room but instead gave us a little fan heater to leave on instead. By the time we got back to the room it was like a sauna.

Oh well, what to expect for £40 or whatever it was.
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In my old career, I would often stay in hotels 2-4 nights per week and I used to find Travelodges convenient, clean, and it made the company complain less when I stayed in 4 or 5 star hotels as it averaged my expenses bills down. nowadays, they seem extra cheap and cheerful and seem to be targetting the "drunken night out" market.

We have been invited to a wedding that's being held in a Holiday Inn, so thought as it's over a 2 hour drive from us we would stay for the night. They are offering a special offer for wedding guests of £75 a night, hubby said can't we find somewhere a bit cheaper. So spend hours and hours on the internet looking for somewhere to keep him happy, I got so confused that I ended up on the Holiday Inn web site. Their quote for the night was £60 :confused:, it's because you are booking it on line you get it cheaper I'm told but what about the special wedding guest discount :speechless-smiley-0

So anyone that's booked as a wedding guest is in other words being taken for a ride, these companies make me :020:

Cis

We have been invited to a wedding that's being held in a Holiday Inn, so thought as it's over a 2 hour drive from us we would stay for the night. They are offering a special offer for wedding guests of £75 a night, hubby said can't we find somewhere a bit cheaper. So spend hours and hours on the internet looking for somewhere to keep him happy, I got so confused that I ended up on the Holiday Inn web site. Their quote for the night was £60 :confused:, it's because you are booking it on line you get it cheaper I'm told but what about the special wedding guest discount :speechless-smiley-0

So anyone that's booked as a wedding guest is in other words being taken for a ride, these companies make me :020:

Cis

Online bookings well in advance usually trump "group" rates. However, many years ago I was booked for a company annual dinner in a 5 star hotel and had the option to stay an extra night at £75. Being a smartass, I thought I could negotiate a better rate for the extra night (admittedly pre-internet). The best I managed to negotiate was £125, so I took the £75

In my previous career I too spent weeks (even months) staying in Travelodges, Premier Inns and Holiday Expresses and on the whole the experiences were not too bad, there were occasional problems. These days, however, I see a different side to it all as my daughter works for our local Travelodge. She had a job with them when she was in Uni and transferred to our local one when she graduated. The idea was she would work there during the summer before embarking on her gap year trip, which unfortunately was cancelled, so she is still working at the 'Lodge and, believe me, you would be amazed (maybe even appalled) at some of the stories she can relate. The staff work 8 hour shifts during which they are cleaner, receptionist & securtiy guard. My daughter often does night shifts (alone) and during that time she is responsible for the welfare of the guests in the 50+ room 'Lodge and for that she gets paid just over £5 an hour. She has to clean rooms (often a very unpleasant task invovling wiping sh*t & vomit up, searching for used condoms etc) and for the upstairs rooms, as there is no lift, is expected to carry the laundry up.

Some people tend to take the attitude that as this is a budget hotel then the staff can be treated with little respect. (Her boyfriend also works there and recently had terrible problems with a long-term guest harrassing him)

My daughter is desperately trying to find other work but in this climate it is not easy so for now she is making the best of it and appreciating the fact that at least she has some sort of income to giver a little independence from us.

Hello

I hope you don’t mind me posting on your thread.

I work for an advertising company in London (Wieden+Kennedy, on behalf of Visit Wales), and am currently on a mission to find a British family (with kids aged 8-18yrs) who’ve had a negative holiday experience abroad – and then to send them on an all-expenses paid trip to Wales, and film their trip for an online documentary and some TV adverts. They’ll visit Michelin-starred restaurants, enjoy amazing outdoors pursuits and relax on the many beautiful beaches that Wales has to offer.

If this is something that would interest you – or anyone you know who has had a similarly negative holiday experience - then please get in touch and I can tell you a little more about it. I can be reached at @wk.com">tom.latter@wk.com.

All the best,

tom