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I was recently looking at Travelodge rates in London, as part of a trip later this year. I have stayed with them many times and generally find the hotels to be of a decent standard – and definitely good value for money.
When looking at the various options for my stay, I noticed several hotels had a new ‘optional daily house keeping charge’ of £3 (see the green bit at the bottom of the image below):
It didn’t seem to show up on every hotel though, so I got in touch with Travelodge to find out more. They replied that,
“this is a new service we are trialling at a select number of hotels in which guests can opt to have their room fully serviced every day for a charge of £3.”
I have not received any information on how long the trial will last however, or what dates have been selected. I was given a list of the hotels participating in the trial though:
- Aberdeen Bucksburn
- Aberdeen Central Justice Mill Lane
- Barrow In Furness
- Blackburn M65
- Brighton
- Cambridge Newmarket Road
- Dundee
- Dundee Strathmore Avenue
- Hatfield Central
- Inverness City Centre
- London Balham
- London Central City Road
- London Central Farringdon
- London Finchley
- London Fulham
- London Heathrow Central
- London Heathrow Heston M4 Eastbound
- London Kingston Upon Thames Central
- London Raynes Park
- London Twickenham
- Manchester Didsbury
- Newcastle Central
- Perth Central
- Stirling City Centre
- Torquay
- Watford Central
- Worthing Seafront
- Wrexham
Conclusion
My initial reaction when I first saw the charge was quite negative – we’ve all become used to hotel rooms being cleaned every day and having that service included in the price.
After thinking about it a bit more though, I’ve reconsidered. Most of the time, there’s no real need for a hotel room to be refreshed every day – and if you need anything specific like clean towels, you can always ask reception.
Many readers will already be familiar with the ‘make a green choice’ options provided by other hotel chains, which offer a small amount of points in exchange for forgoing having your room serviced. If (and it’s a big if!) Travelodge’s room rates are genuinely £3 cheaper than they previously were for people who do not want their room cleaned every day, that’s actually probably a better deal than 500 Hilton or Marriott Points.
What do you think about the new charge – another reason to avoid Travelodge, or a smart way for guests to save money?
No toiletries, no cleaning, no newspapers – it is like saying “we are Airbnb but more expensive”.
Obviously you don’t use the high end Airbnb as they aren’t cheap!
I think it’s a good idea. I can keep my own room tidy, make my own bed, ask for towels if need be. I dont normally stay in a Travelodge for more than 2 nights so wouldnt feel the need for daily housekeeping.
Re comment above – I never use hotel toiletries! Always bring my own. Never read a newspaper – I have an iPad.
If I was there for a week – how often would room be serviced? And would I have to pay for that?
It’s just another way to cut the biggest cost their employees, if everyone opts to save the £3 how many fewer staff will they need. Plus if I stay for a week how much mess and rubbish is going to be around the thimble they call a bin, will it hum? Plus I might want a loo brush something no hotels provide.
Chuck everything out the front door, save the £3 a day then!