Is there a UK Hotel Regulatory Body?? Need to resolve complaint

d18set

Hi

Does anyone know if there is a UK hotel regulatory body (or a similar body to escalate complaints against UK hotels)?

I ask because we stayed in a travelodge hotel in Harrogate the other week (admittedly it wasn't expensive but enough). However the experience was dreadful due to noise as the hotel was situated above a nightclub - we got very little (if any) sleep.

We booked the hotel in advance through Superbreak.com and so e-mailed them to complain and to seek a (at least partial) refund as the hotel clearly didn't meet the conditions of our booking (the hotel on the website is advertised as "comfortable and spacious" and suitable "to help you stay relaxed and refreshed").

We have just received an unsatisfactory response from Superbreak. To paraphrase it basically says that if we had read the customer reviews on their website it will have mentioned the nightclub and so we knew what we were booking. However we do not feel that we should have to read independent customer reviews to get such information and the hotel information should contain a disclaimer that clearly states the noise.

We therefore intend to get back to superbreak to reitereate our complain and indictate our dis-satisfaction with their response. However it would be good to get independent advice / support from a regulator body.

Any help appreciated.

susancs

The reviews are awful on tripadvisor too re: the noise if you want some where to back up your experience when dealing with Superbreak.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187046-d308697-Reviews-Travelodge_Harrogate-Harrogate_North_Yorkshire_England.html#REVIEWS

I always find I get good results if I email the MD or CEO and in your case I would send an email both Superbreak and Travelodge. I know your contract is actually with Superbreak, but it would do not harm to do the same email and put cc on the bottom to the other person. A quick google search shows Travelodges CEO Guy Parsons can be emailed at [EMAIL="guy.parsons@travelodge.co.uk"]guy.parsons@travelodge.co.uk[/EMAIL] and Eamonn Ferrin is Superbreaks MD, so I would try his email as [EMAIL="eamonn.Ferring@superbreak.com"]eamonn.Ferrin@superbreak.com[/EMAIL]

I would point out that your experinces were not isloated ones as backed up by the numerous similar comments on Trip Advsor reviews. I know you don't state it but I assume you made the hotel Manager or staff aware of your complaint at the time and on checkout, so they should be able to investigate via this too. Interestingly the TL site does mention the noise and the night club, so if Superbreak does not, maybe you could ask why they do not supply this information on their site.

"Due to the central location of this hotel, exterior noise may be heard from surrounding bars and clubs. We are in close proximity to a number of these establishments including a “Rock Bar” and a “Lure” night club below the hotel. This noise tends to focus mainly on a weekend but events can be held at any time".
http://www2.travelodge.co.uk/search_and_book/hotel_overview.php?hotel_id=262

ellay864

Looking at the superbreak website they appear to describe the rooms, rather than the location of the hotel, so at worst they've omitted things rather than made deliberate false representation. There is one review commenting on the noise which appears on their main site without you having to click into anything, and they actively encourage you to check reviews. With sites like TripAdvisor being so popular and easily accessible it seems a bit daft NOT to check. I'd far rather check other customer reviews than selctive facts by someone who's making money from me booking.
Good luck with taking it further but do be very careful in your choice of wording. You may get something as a goodwill gesture but it will be hard I think to claim much else