Background
This ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on the availability of advertised hotel prices. The ads were identified for investigation following intelligence gathered by our Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the rules. See also related rulings published on 19 November.
Ad description
An email for a promotion by Butlins, received on 27 June, featured the subject heading "The Big Butlin's Sale ends in FOUR days". Text in the body of the email stated, "THE BIG BUTLIN'S SALE ENDS IN 4 DAYS […] Plus it's payday! So, what are you waiting for? […] Time is running out, ! The Big Butlin's Sale must end in FOUR days, so bag a break for less this payday and give your family something to look forward to […] Take advantage of some great savings when booking by Tuesday 1 July. We'll also cover your break with our Lowest Price Guarantee which means if you find it cheaper before your stay, we'll refund you the difference. And, with so much included in the price, we're great value for money". Underneath was a button consumers could click with the text "BOOK NOW" stated on it.
Issue
The ASA, who understood from a subsequent email from Butlins that the closing date for the offer was extended to 15 July, challenged whether the promotion breached the Code.
Response
Butlins Skyline Ltd t/a Butlins confirmed that The Big Butlins Sale was extended to 15 July to give more families the opportunity to benefit from the savings. They said that those consumers who booked between 3 June and 1 July received the advertised savings, and those who booked between 1 and 15 July were able to enjoy the same benefits, so the extension ensured no customer was disadvantaged. The said that the decision to extend aligned with the fairness and consumer protection principles underpinning the CAP Code.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that closing dates for promotions must not be changed unless unavoidable circumstances outside the promoter’s control made it necessary, and not to change the date would be unfair to those who sought to participate within the original terms, or those who sought to participate within the original terms would not be disadvantaged by the change.
The ASA considered that the text in the ad including “THE BIG BUTLIN'S SALE ENDS IN 4 DAYS”, “Time is running out”, “So, what are you waiting for?” and “Take advantage of some great savings when booking by Tuesday 1 July” clearly indicated that the promotion was due to end, and was likely to put pressure on consumers to book a break with Butlins before it ended. We understood that the closing date for the promotion was then extended to 15 July to give more consumers the opportunity to benefit from the savings. We considered that did not constitute unavoidable circumstances outside the promoter’s control which made the change necessary, as required by the Code.
For those reasons, we concluded that the promotion had not been administered fairly and had breached the Code.
The promotion breached CAP Code rules (Edition 12) rules 8.2 (Promotional marketing) 8.17 and 8.17.4.E (Significant conditions for promotions).
Action
The promotion must not be run again in the form complained of. We told Butlins Skyline Ltd t/a Butlins to ensure that they administered their future promotions fairly and did not change closing dates unless unavoidable circumstances beyond their control made it necessary, or not to change the date would be unfair to those who sought to participate within the original terms, and that those who sought to participate within the original terms would not be disadvantaged by the change.
