Premier Inn

blue.peter

Not really a "random act of kindness", but definitely something positive...

I had a couple of Premier Inn bookings. One was for a few days in early May, the other for 2 June. They were prepaid and not cancellable. When the COVID-19 crisis hit, the attraction that I'd intended to visit in May was closed until further notice and the concert in June was cancelled. (Strictly speaking, it's postponed until some as-yet-unannounced date next year.) I thought that I'd lost my money on the hotel bookings. However, Premier Inn eventually decided that the May booking could be cancelled (having first tried to persuade me to rebook to another date), but not the June one. This afternoon, I got an e-mail telling me that I could now cancel the June booking. I received the refund for the May booking a couple of weeks ago, and have now been promised a refund for the June booking.

I've also got full refunds on the train tickets associated with both trips - and no admin charge.

I'm feeling pretty good about this. I'll soon have recovered a couple of hundred pounds that I initially wrote off. Premier Inn has definitely earnt a bit of goodwill here.

Savvy_Sue

I think Travelodge has done the same (but I must check because it was a booking on the work credit card in that case ...)

Glee68

Premier Inn are to be congratulated - outstanding customer service. I got the same emails (as above) and have been told my refund is on its way. Compare and contrast the way that they have managed this with the way that Ryan Air are making it impossible to get a refund from my cancelled flights.  I feel only warmth and love for Premier Inn - I will go out of my way to book with them in the future. I wish I could say the same about Ryan Air!

vitaweat

Well done Premier Inn.  It must be a terrible time for them ATM as hotels have huge costs regardless of whether or not anyone is staying in them.

ladyholly

Whitbread (owners of premier inn) have, so far been very good to their staff. My daighter who works for them was told even before the lockdown they would receive 70% of their contracted hours and the resturaunt where she works was actually told they were closing just before they were forced to. It worked out the day of the lockdown but the intention was there to keep their staff safe. She is now  I believe receiving 100% of her pay since the furlough scheme came into operation. Well done Whitbread.

MrsWenger

I posted a thank you for Premier Inn on the Praise and Vent board a few weeks ago.

Without any correspondence from me they mailed to offer a refund or to move the booking on a non refundable booking. 

I use them regularly anyway but definitely the kind of behaviour that will stand them in good stead in the future.

Polarpenguin

Have to agree with everything said about Premier Inn. Excellent customer service. I've a booking for the End of July, for an event which is unlikely to happen. Received the email today offering full refund if cancelled up to 28 day prior to dates or change of dates up to day of booking. Will wait for a bit before deciding what to do.
It will definitely be the companies, that treated their customers fairly in these difficult times, that will reap the benefits as we begin to get back to some semblance of normal. 

Ladyholly it's nice to hear they are treating their staff right to & are putting their interest before profits.

sassy_one

If you had booked the flex rate you'd not need to even wait for a refund given you pay on arrival.

A little more expensive but only a few pounds more often that the saver price.

Either way, the fact they've refund is great but nothing short of them keeping in mind that people will remember how they are treated during this crisis when we come out of it.
So not really anything short of what was morally right or amazing.

Murphybear

Ive never used Premier Inns but will look at them as we are planning a trip somewhere nice after the lockdown has been lifted and we feel safe enough (OH is over 70, male and overweight so he’s vulnerable).

Next year is the 25th anniversary of our engagement so it will be special.

money saving tip:  don’t get married, just stay engaged 

blue.peter

Murphybear said:

Ive never used Premier Inns but will look at them as we are planning a trip somewhere nice after the lockdown has been lifted and we feel safe enough (OH is over 70, male and overweight so he’s vulnerable).

Next year is the 25th anniversary of our engagement so it will be special.

If it's something special, Premier Inn might not be what you're looking for. They tend to be pretty bland. No four-poster beds, claw-foot tubs or anything of that sort. The rooms will generally be pretty plain, though warm, dry and clean. Just a box with a bed, a desk, a chair or two and an en-suite bathroom. The attached restaurants are OK for breakfast (buffet-style), but I'd never use one for my main meal. The evening offerings tend to be not very good IMO. I like the hotels for the combination of locations, price and predictability, but will always eat elsewhere. They seem to be targeted more at business travellers than at the leisure market, though they are, obviouly, happy to take anyone's money.

They're really hot on demand pricing: sometimes you can get a really good deal (I've paid as little as £35 for a room for one night in Croydon), other times it'll cost a lot more. A couple of years ago, I stayed in the same hotel in central Birmingham for five nights, spread across the year. No two nights cost me the same, even though several of them were the same day of the week. (I go to Brum for concerts, mostly at Symphony Hall, and stay over before travelling home the following day.)

Whatever you do, and wherever you go, I hope that you both enjoy it.

Murphybear said:

money saving tip:  don’t get married, just stay engaged 

Hmmm.... there are good money saving reasons to get married - mostly around tax and inheritance. Obviously, though, those should not be the sole considerations.

Murphybear

As neither my OH nor myself have any family the cat charity, Air Ambulance or Diabetes charities will be my beneficiaries.  We don’t earn enough to pay tax.  

For a mini holiday the area is more important than the actual accommodation.  My favourite area is the Lake District but it gets too crowded and expensive these days.  I love the Highlands of Scotland, truly stunning but a very long drive from Dorset