Another High Street Rebrand

[dosxuk]

I've never really got how Premier Inn has ended up commanding such a premium price over Travelodge

Main thing for us (we stay in a lot of both chains) is that Premier Inn's consistency is higher and there are very few with no decent food options available on site. There's plenty of Travelodge's where your only option is to drive to the nearest town or to have a sandwich from the petrol station. For £20 room more you get a nicer room, more comfortable bed and dinner and breakfast options. The better Travelodge's (and there are some very nice ones) are often charging the same price as premier inn anyway.

[Pete]

I've never really got how Premier Inn has ended up commanding such a premium price over Travelodge

Main thing for us (we stay in a lot of both chains) is that Premier Inn's consistency is higher and there are very few with no decent food options available on site. There's plenty of Travelodge's where your only option is to drive to the nearest town or to have a sandwich from the petrol station. For £20 room more you get a nicer room, more comfortable bed and dinner and breakfast options. The better Travelodge's (and there are some very nice ones) are often charging the same price as premier inn anyway.

Food is definitely the selling point for me. I've been to perhaps two Premier Inns where the food was lacklustre, but I've been to plenty Travelodges where the food was shocking.

Holiday Inn's food offer is the one that gets me. It's old fashioned 90s pricing aimed at expense accounts but even then because most expense accounts have a £25/30 meal limit you end up going elsewhere and claiming it back because then you actually get fed for the money.

I stayed at one in York last year for leisure and was not prepared to pay £16 for breakfast inferior to Premier Inn's is about a tenner and better. Ended up going over the road to the Wetherspoons* and getting their £5 breakfast instead.

*no longer an option. I could turn a blind eye to the Brexit stuff but firing their staff and telling them to work at Tesco was the last straw. A shame because their offering is excellent. Especially with things like app ordering. :(

[bilky asko]

Wetherspoons staff weren't fired, were they?

[tillyoshea]

I see that TGI Fridays is now just... Fridays.

[all new Phil]

Imagine thinking that the “Fridays” part of the name is the recognisable bit and not “TGI”. Baffling.

[cwathen]

Wetherspoons staff weren't fired, were they?

Basically, Tim Martin badly delivered a long, rambling speech which was equally badly written (I would suggest whilst either a bit drunk or a bit hungover). At the end of it, he said if any of his staff wanted to go and work for a supermarket for Tesco had mentioned needing many extra staff then they should feel able to do that, and would get first preference to be rehired when Spoons reopened. This was after mentioning the government furlough scheme. The jungle drums of the left then reversioned it as if he had quite literally said 'I'm sacking you, fuck off to Tescos' and that's now become the accepted version of the truth for many people. I'm not claiming that he didn't knowingly drop that line in hoping that a few would resign to save any liability if he had to lay people off, but that is many miles short of what it is commonly claimed he has said. Certainly since reopening the two local Spoons that I frequent have exactly the same staff in them.

TBH, the far greater scandal involving Wetherspoons is the suggestion that they may not have paid their suppliers - some of which will be small Mom & Pop businesses.

Here is what he actually said for you to make your own judgement (the uploader clearly already has made his/hers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2l9Bk7mAtI&t=1s

Main thing for us (we stay in a lot of both chains) is that Premier Inn's consistency is higher and there are very few with no decent food options available on site. There's plenty of Travelodge's where your only option is to drive to the nearest town or to have a sandwich from the petrol station. For £20 room more you get a nicer room, more comfortable bed and dinner and breakfast options. The better Travelodge's (and there are some very nice ones) are often charging the same price as premier inn anyway.

May be down to location. I usually stay at central locations where the on site offering for food (if any) is not critical. That or if staying out of town I know where better options can be found (such as at Ilminster Travelodge next to the A303 which now has a Burger King, Greggs and 'Sainsbury's on the Go' crammed into a former Little Chef building as the official offering yet there is a brilliant gastropub just 5 minutes walk away which is far better than anything you'd get on site at Premier Inn).

However I don't agree that they all have nicer rooms (will concede new build Premier Inns vs new build Travelodges do as per my previous post but that's not the majority of the estate for either chain - the bulk are pretty much the same apart from aircon), and I don't really see any difference in the bed - I know they're from different suppliers but they're both very comfy and very big - in fact better than many people have in their home.

[thegeek]

Wetherspoons staff weren't fired, were they?

They weren't - however they were only paid up until March 22nd, and told they were on their own until whenever the government's furlough scheme started. Many other major employers paid staff until the end of March, and in some cases (I know IKEA is one) didn't accept any government assistance and paid their staff from their own profits.

He's a capitalist, and he did what he did to protect the bottom line. He's just been a bit Scrooge in the way he's gone about it, and I think people are starting to get a bit fed up of the regard he has for the people who help make him that money.

[scottishtv]

Imagine thinking that the “Fridays” part of the name is the recognisable bit and not “TGI”. Baffling.

The whole thing is laughable. They say they wanted to be “shorter, sharper and more contemporary”, then state that "playful" copy has been introduced for the brand’s tone of voice. This includes contemporary references such as "the spice is right", "spice up your life" and "let's get saucy". It all looks so cheap and dated. No amount of branding will solve the fundamental problem of the overpriced mediocre food and drink.

[WillPS]

It all feels a lot like the aborted Frankie & Benny's rebrand.

[gottago]

For a generation over 30, Fridays occupies a special place in eharts (sic) and minds

Yes as a shithole I went to in the later stages of my teenage years when their higher prices made me think I was more grown up even though the food was lower quality than any of the cheap fast food places I normally went to. Surely no one has fond memories of TGIs - sorry, 'Fridays'?! And yes I agree they've dropped the wrong part of the name.

[Pete]

Wetherspoons staff weren't fired, were they?

Basically, Tim Martin badly delivered a long, rambling speech which was equally badly written (I would suggest whilst either a bit drunk or a bit hungover). At the end of it, he said if any of his staff wanted to go and work for a supermarket for Tesco had mentioned needing many extra staff then they should feel able to do that, and would get first preference to be rehired when Spoons reopened. This was after mentioning the government furlough scheme. The jungle drums of the left then reversioned it as if he had quite literally said 'I'm sacking you, fuck off to Tescos' and that's now become the accepted version of the truth for many people. I'm not claiming that he didn't knowingly drop that line in hoping that a few would resign to save any liability if he had to lay people off, but that is many miles short of what it is commonly claimed he has said. Certainly since reopening the two local Spoons that I frequent have exactly the same staff in them.

TBH, the far greater scandal involving Wetherspoons is the suggestion that they may not have paid their suppliers - some of which will be small Mom & Pop businesses.

I think I'm getting them mixed up with Cineworld (?) who made staff redundant then quickly re-employed them. The not paying the staff / not paying the suppliers bit was a shitty nevertheless and has put them in my bad books.

Tesco I think have weathered this incredibly well.