Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder wtf is going on with Premier Inn?

89 replies

CristosBreakfastPie · 07/10/2021 11:51

I remember when Premier inn were a company with amazing customer service. The quality was very consistent, and you could pretty much guarantee a clean room, a good breakfast, and even a refund if there were any issues (there were rarely ANY) .Premier inn was a brilliant, yet affordable option for families.
Lately I’ve had to stay in a few for work, and the experience has been nightmarish. But it seems I’m not alone. Typing #premierinn into Twitter reveals an endless stream of horror stories, really dangerous oversights (hygiene and health and safety), and absolute failures of basic customer service standards.
My personal experience was horrible enough (bed bug infestation in the room 🤢🤢🤢), but it seems this is far from unique … there are countless TripAdvisor posts with photographs of bugs and bites, all with generic responses from whitbread.. "we’ll get back to you about this shortly" type responses. And it doesn’t stop at bugs. Filth, doors that don’t lock, disregard for fire safety regs, mould…. It just goes on and on.
Premier inn has ways to make complaints, including an online form and a customer services line. But none of them are working. They occasionally (once a fortnight )engage with the Twitter dm function, but only to request more information and prolong the complaints procedure.
Even the hotels themselves no longer seems to answer calls at all ?
What is going on at Premier inn???

OP posts:
scully29 · 07/10/2021 11:56

Ive had consistently good customer service at Premier Inn recently as ever. no complaints from me. Maybe its just a few of them not to standard?

scully29 · 07/10/2021 11:59

I imagine they have probably had serious staffing issues post Brexit like most places.

Hellocatshome · 07/10/2021 12:01

Never ever had a problem with Premier Inn and have stayed in some recently and they were just as good as before. I imagine some areas are really struggling for staff at the moment.

Original poster
CristosBreakfastPie · 07/10/2021 12:02

Perhaps. I’m sure covid has had a huge impact and I wonder whether their policy of not cleaning rooms daily during the pandemic has contributed to an explosion of bedbugs in big cities? It’s something I wouldn’t have really considered previously, but the thought of inadvertently bringing them home scares me.

OP posts:
Crabwoman · 07/10/2021 12:06

I would imagine that like the rest of the hospitality industry they are struggling to fully staff their hotels, which has a knock on effect om management, customer service, house keeping, maintenance etc.

We stayed in one during the summer and they were back to providing a full buffet service. Customer service was excellent, but they were clearly short staffed and run ragged.

EvilPea · 07/10/2021 12:07

My guess.
They’ve expanded massively, very quickly. Combine that with staff issues and there’s lots of problems

scully29 · 07/10/2021 12:08

Personally I was very impressed with their covid measures - like changing the shower curtain between every guest for example. I doubt bed bugs have come about from not routinely cleaning rooms daily (only on guest changeover or if asked) because they wouldnt normally change sheets daily I assume.

knittingaddict · 07/10/2021 12:09

Bed bugs are on the rise, are a pig to get rid of and have nothing to do with cleanliness. It would still bother me and the risk of taking a hitchhiker home would be too much for me.

Original poster
CristosBreakfastPie · 07/10/2021 12:11

I’m not sure there’s any excuse for shoddy maintenance in a company the size of Premier inn though. Especially if they still charge full price for rooms.

OP posts:
Underamour · 07/10/2021 12:11

I know a hotel cleaner. Firstly, there are shortages and secondly, they will have a set routine and a number of rooms to clean per shift - if you don’t finish they stay late. So, they might have to change sheets and towels, empty the bin, clean all surfaces, remake the bed, clean the en suite etc. Things like bedbugs could get missed unless they were reported.

Mould is pretty common however again, it would need to be reported then someone go out and fix. Please note this cleaner doesn’t work for Premier.

emmathedilemma · 07/10/2021 12:13

I've also stayed in a lot of them over the years and never had any issues (one of the reasons I stay with them!). My only complaint about a recent stay was the length of time it took to get seated and then served at breakfast because they were still taking orders for hot food. I booked a table in advance and waited over 5minutes for someone to sit me at a table, meanwhile I lost count of how many times someone went past on their way to the kitchen and said "someone will be with your shortly".

scully29 · 07/10/2021 12:13

The rooms are incredibly reasonably priced though to be fair!

toomanyblankets · 07/10/2021 12:14

My daughter (6) found the plastic part of a syringe under our bed when we last stayed. Sent in a complaint - have heard nothing. That was a month ago.

emmathedilemma · 07/10/2021 12:14

also, if you search on twitter for references the majority are going to be complaints, people do it to get attention and a response so it's always a biased sample. The ones who've had a great stay with no complaints are less likely to tweet about it.

Ozanj · 07/10/2021 12:15

Depends on location. Premier Inn in London, for example, are comparable to Travelodge in terms of quality but usually in better more central locations which is why they charge a premium. But outside London they can be really nice with lovely rooms and outdoor spaces etc.

Original poster
CristosBreakfastPie · 07/10/2021 12:18

I can understand how bedbugs spread quickly in big cities especially. (Nb they aren’t just in beds, these were in the carpet… Reduced vacuuming must have an effect?)
What I find harder to understand is a company that doesn’t respond at all to complaints…
And has no functioning communication facility for customers. It seems they’ve just decided not to respond to complaints at all.

OP posts:
vivariumvivariumsvivaria · 07/10/2021 12:19

Are you the CEO of Travelodge, Cristos?

QueenofKattegat · 07/10/2021 12:25

Staffing. They are getting rid of housekeepers left, right and centre and receptionists are expected to do both reception and housekeeping. The amount of bodies on reception is also being reduced. Doing the night shift used to always mean two people on reception overnight, now it is down to one person so doing the walk around is downright dangerous and often gets left. Managers being cut so the manager of one site is now expected to be the manager of 3 or 4 sites.

It is coming from the top and isn't the fault of the staff in the hotels.

scully29 · 07/10/2021 12:25

Travelodge is good too!

Original poster
CristosBreakfastPie · 07/10/2021 12:28

I think people who turn to vent their frustration on Twitter do so because they’ve exhausted other avenues and received no response?
After all , Premier inn require guests who bring complaints to hotel reception to fill in an online form (especially if the guest believes they deserve a refund), so going directly to Twitter would be pointless. You’d still be asked to fill out the online form.

OP posts:
QueenofKattegat · 07/10/2021 12:31

Oh and I am also expected to serve in the breakfast room if I am on the nightshift so my shift officially ends at hand-over - 6.45am, but the lone receptionist who takes over from me can't then be on reception and start housekeeping, so I have to go in the breakfast room and take orders/serve.

I can't afford to leave before anyone tells me to!

Original poster
CristosBreakfastPie · 07/10/2021 12:32

The rooms were not all reasonably priced over the summer holidays in the UK. Some were very pricey, but consistent and a supposedly safe option for those travelling with young families (you know there’ll be high chairs at breakfast/ safe cots if needed/ 24 hr reception/ etc etc).

OP posts:
mumwon · 07/10/2021 12:32

re bed bugs - report to local council - environmental health or is there another organisation - Oh wise mumnetters?

Fluffypastelslippers · 07/10/2021 12:33

I haven’t noticed any difference and I stay regularly in premier inns. Some are a bit shabby and in need of an upgrade but they have been working to do this throughout their hotels over the past few years anyway. The hotels are usually clean, but if they are not or if you spot a fault you need to tell the reception so action can be taken, I have always found them really helpful when I have raised any issues. In the last 6 months I have stayed in 9 different premier inns. Three had the old rooms and one of those was visibly scruffy, but clean, the other 2 absolutely fine. One of the newer style rooms had bulbs out on both ceiling lights which I reported on check out (I was there for a quick stop so wasn’t fussed about the, fixing it for me, just for the next person). So out of 9 rooms I had one reportable issue.

TeenMinusTests · 07/10/2021 12:39

@QueenofKattegat

Staffing. They are getting rid of housekeepers left, right and centre and receptionists are expected to do both reception and housekeeping. The amount of bodies on reception is also being reduced. Doing the night shift used to always mean two people on reception overnight, now it is down to one person so doing the walk around is downright dangerous and often gets left. Managers being cut so the manager of one site is now expected to be the manager of 3 or 4 sites.

It is coming from the top and isn't the fault of the staff in the hotels.

I suspect this.

My DD had to leave PI after the pandemic because they wanted new contracts signing saying reception must also do housekeeping. She was great on reception but physical issues meant she couldn't do housekeeping.

it was such a shame as she had loved working for them.