WAKING up at 3am in my Premier Inn hotel room sweating, I felt unbearably hot as I reached for the air-con – but it wasn’t working.
As I tossed around struggling to get back to sleep, I at least felt comforted in the knowledge that I could get a refund for my £267 one-night stay under the hotel chain’s “Good Night Guarantee”.
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But I was shocked when my claim was rejected, despite complying with the terms and conditions listed on its website – and it turns out I’m one of many disgruntled guests who’ve had this experience.
My husband and I checked into our hotel in central Manchester in June, excited to drop off our bags and head straight out to see one of our favourite bands, Foo Fighters.
We’d expected to pay around £200 for a one-night stay in the city because Liam Gallagher and Peter Kay were also performing that weekend, and it’s common practice for hotels to hike their prices when big artists are in town.
We booked our room back in April and paid a hefty £267 for the night, which included an upgrade to one of the hotel’s “plus” rooms.
This apparently meant a comfier space with extra perks like free coffee pods, but even so, I thought the price was pretty steep for one night in a chain designed to offer good value.
But due to high demand, hotel rooms were few and far between so we decided to go for it.
We arrived a little early on the day and paid another £10 to get into our room before 3pm, the standard check-in time.
As we put our key card into the door, we expected to see the swish room we had been promised. But instead, we entered a tatty room with frayed, peeling furniture and stained carpets.
We didn’t have time to raise this with the hotel then as we wanted to grab dinner before making our way to the venue and were keen to not let it spoil our plans.
However, our problems with the hotel room didn’t end there.
We both woke up during the night because the room was unbearably warm, and when we reached for the air conditioning, we found it wasn’t working.
As it was the middle of the night, we decided it would be best to let reception know in the morning.
Plus, we knew we about Premier Inn’s Good Night Guarantee – and had done our research on it before our trip.
The guarantee, which is stamped all over the hotel’s marketing, reads: “At Premier Inn, we’re so confident you’ll have a great night’s sleep that if you don’t, we’ll give you your money back.
“If there’s a problem, just have a chat with a member of our friendly reception team. They’ll be happy to put things right.”
On Premier Inn’s website, it says that if you don’t get a chance to speak to a member of staff during the stay, you have up to seven days from check-out to raise the issue.
We checked out early and told staff at reception about the problems, and were told that someone from services would be along to check them out for the next guest.
Then, we decided to put it in writing too and make a claim under Good Night Guarantee.
I contacted Premier Inn’s customer services team via X, formerly known as Twitter, and sent photos alongside a detailed account of our stay.
With the guarantee in mind, I was expecting to be offered at least a partial refund.
But instead, I was told that because I didn’t bring the issues to the team’s attention at the time – during the middle of the night – we wouldn’t be entitled to any compensation.
What does Premier Inn’s Good Night Gurantee say?
Below is the full version of Premier Inn’s Good Night’s Sleep Guarantee:
At Premier Inn we’ve thought of everything you need to have a great night’s sleep. From our super-comfy mattress, to a choice of firm or soft pillows, we’re always on the lookout for ways to make bedtime better.
In fact, we’re so confident you’ll have a great night’s sleep that, if you don’t, we’ll give you your money back.
Just speak to one of our friendly reception team. This is our Good Night Guarantee.
Other unhappy customers
Frustrated, I searched online to see if other people had experienced the same disappointment with Premier Inn – and I was shocked to find dozens of people complaining about it.
On the Complain.Biz website, one customer who had made a group booking said their mother “found three spiders in her bed”, while another guest was “woken up with the alarm going off for approximately four minutes.”
Despite reporting the issues to reception the following morning, their claims were dismissed for not being reported during the night.
On Tripadvisor, another furious customer said they were refused a refund under the guarantee after being given an “uncomfortable” bed.
They wrote: “Staff on reception were very unhelpful and had already told us that this was the only room of this type in the hotel.
“When we complained via email to Premier Inn, they acknowledged and apologised for my lack of a comfy bed and no sleep, but could not uphold their guarantee as I had not spoken with reception [at the time].”
Premier Inn ought to be more transparent about the guarantee and withdraw it if they are unable and unwilling to honour it, as it appears to be creating more problems than it solves
Scott Dixon
Of course, you can’t blame a hotel for external noise or if other guests cause issues.
But the problem with Premier Inn’s guarantee is that it boldly promises to refund you if you have a poor night’s sleep, and then doesn’t deliver on this promise.
Consumer expert Scott Dixon said the guarantee therefore appears to be “questionable and worthless”.
“Premier Inn ought to be more transparent about this and withdraw it if they are unable and unwilling to honour it, as it appears to be creating more problems than it solves,” he said.
The Sun reported Premier Inn’s marketing of the guarantee to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA).
Following our investigation, Premier Inn has changed the wording around its Good Night Guarantee and has updated its terms and conditions to make it more clear and transparent for customers.
The slogan now reads: “We’re so confident you’ll have a great night’s sleep that, if you don’t, you can claim for a refund on the affected night*.”
And the terms now say: “Guests should let us know if there’s been a problem while they’re staying with us.
“You have up to seven days from check-out to claim on our Good Night Guarantee.”
A spokesperson for Premier Inn told The Sun: “At Premier Inn, we help millions of people to have a great night’s sleep every year and are proud to consistently be voted the UK’s number one hotel company.
“Over 20 million room nights were sold last year and in the rare event that a guest doesn’t have a good night’s sleep with us, they can make a claim under our Good Night Guarantee.”
They added: “We are unable to comment on historic, untraceable claims made online, the oldest of which is well over two and a half years old.
“With over 20 million room nights sold last year, these allegations are clearly not representative of the quality experience that our guests know and love.”
We also asked Premier Inn how many claims result in a refund but it did not respond to this point.
What did the terms and conditions say?
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As with everything, it’s always important to read the terms and conditions and make sure you’re fully in the know.
The T&Cs for Premier Inn’s Good Night Guarantee say that you cannot claim for anything beyond its “reasonable control” like extreme weather conditions, fire, floods and earthquakes.
They also say you can’t make a claim if a hotel lacks amenities that aren’t listed online for that branch, such as a lack of air con.
However, they also previously stated that if you did have a valid claim, you could report it within seven days from check-out and you’ll still be eligible for the guarantee.
You just needed to provide details such as the hotel you stayed in, dates of your stay and the reason you didn’t have a good night’s sleep.
Yet, when I actually put this into practice, I was told something completely different.
This has now been clarified to say you can claim within seven days as long as it’s reported at the time.
Premier Inn provided me with a full refund for my stay after I escalated my complaint via email and explained I hadn’t been aware I needed to report my issue during the night.
The Premier Inn spokesperson said: “As with any guarantee, there are a few basic conditions, such as reporting any issue in time so that we can try and fix it.”
The guarantee gives the wrong impression
By Olivia Marshall, senior consumer reporter at The Sun
While I appreciate hotels can’t refund you for every issue, Premier Inn’s guarantee gives the impression you will get at least some of your money back if you have a poor stay – but this clearly isn’t happening in many cases.
As a result, customers are left feeling even more disgruntled.
It’s great the hotel chain has updated its terms and conditions following our investigation.
I think the hotel needs to be transparent about the conditions that apply to any money-back guarantees so guests don’t end up feeling disappointed.
How to complain about a hotel stay
If you bought the trip through a UK company, you can try to claim your money back under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 if it has not provided what was it promised, such as a clean room.
Helen Dewdney, The Complaining Cow, explained: “Under The Consumer Rights Act 2015 you are entitled to services to be carried out with reasonable skill and care and therefore you can claim redress if you feel any point of your stay was not or indeed did not match the description.”
Raise issues immediately with the hotel or tour operator. They might try to put things right on the spot.
If they don’t, collect evidence you can use later, including clear photos and videos of the issues.
If you become ill or have an accident and believe the hotel or company is at fault, find out if anyone else is affected and get their contact details.
Also, make a note of any extra expenses you might have racked up as a result of the problems.
Then, send a letter of complaint spelling out why your holiday was different to what was advertised.
Most complaints fall under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 where goods and services sold must be fit for purpose, as described, satisfactory quality and last a reasonable length of time.
If you are not satisfied, take the complaint to travel industry trade association ABTA.
For bookings directly with the hotel, complain to them.
If that fails, make a Section 75 claim against your credit card provider.
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To get help, write to our consumer champion, Laura Purkess.
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