Long-haul tour operator called to account over misleading ad
UK travel company Travel2 has this week been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Agency over a press advert it ran in May claiming its prices were 85% cheaper than rival Gold Medal’s.
The advert in question appeared in the May edition of travel industry magazine Travel Weekly and featured the headline ‘85% of our hotel prices are cheaper than Gold Medal’s’. The claim was apparently based on independent research which compared 350 hotels from each website on a like for like basis.
Gold Medal was furious about the ad, claiming that it was misleading and couldn’t be substantiated, and referred the matter to the ASA. On investigating, the ASA ruled in favour of Gold Medal, concluding that the comparison was misleading as it included twice as many Travel2 hotels as Gold Medal hotels. When it looked into the matter, it also failed to find any clear evidence for the 85% claim.
Travel2 has now been ordered to withdraw the claim from its marketing materials and to ensure that any future price comparison claims are verifiable and based on fair evidence.
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