Background
THIS ADJUDICATION REPLACES THAT PUBLISHED ON 7 AUGUST 2013. THE WORDING HAS BEEN CHANGED BUT THE 'UPHELD' DECISION REMAINS THE SAME.
Ad description
Claims on www.travelzoo.com/uk/top20, a travel deals website, stated "... Escape to Ibiza before the summer crowds arrive for less than £100 - this 3 night Balearic break from Bargain Late Holidays is up to £135 cheaper than we've found elsewhere. For £99 per person, you get flights from London Gatwick, Luton or Stansted and three nights at the Tropical Hotel in San Antonio (pictured) on a bed-and-breakfast basis ...".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the claims "this 3 night Balearic break" and "three nights at the Tropical Hotel" were misleading and could be substantiated, because he understood that passengers were required to travel during the first and third nights so would only have one full night at the hotel.
Response
Travelzoo (Europe) Ltd (Travelzoo) provided a spreadsheet showing the results of their test bookings for the offer. They said that the test bookers did not log the specific flight times for the deal as it was not standard practice to note down that level of detail, although they said this was something they would address in future. They said they had contacted the supplier of the offer who had provided one example where flight times enabled a full three-night stay. They said their understanding, when they published an offer, was that a wide variety of departures were available to book. Travelzoo explained that the supplier was unable to provide a schedule of flight times in respect of the offer because it was based on a variety of different airlines and availability at the time. They could only have produced a schedule if they had purchased the seats in advance.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA understood that the complainant had made enquiries with a view to purchasing a holiday and the flight times offered were such that he would have arrived at Ibiza airport at 1.35am on the first night and departed at 1.45am on the third night. We noted the example provided by Travelzoo from the supplier of the holiday and in that case, the passenger arrived in Ibiza at 4.15pm on the first day and departed at 5.55pm on the fourth day. However, we considered that some of the flight times, including those offered to the complainant, did not accord with consumer expectations of a three-day holiday because passengers on those flights only had one full night at the hotel. We therefore concluded that the claims "this 3 night Balearic break" and "three nights at the Tropical Hotel" had not been substantiated and were misleading.
The claims breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Travelzoo to ensure that in future ads they did not mislead consumers about the length of the holidays.
