HomeInsightsCommittee of Advertising Practice publish advice on travel marketing and availability

Contact

CAP explains that the ASA receives a significant number of complaints about the availability of flights and other travel products, such as accommodation, at the prices quoted in marketing communications. Accordingly, it has published an advice note to assist marketers.

The advice states that marketers should be able to demonstrate a significant proportion of availability of flights and other travel products at the lead-in price, and consumers should have a reasonable chance of obtaining the products at the advertised price. Marketers must not exaggerate the availability of prices at the lead-in or promotional price, or mislead by including contradictory small print.

Further, marketers should make clear the destinations to which quoted prices relate and that a promotional price applies to selected flights on certain routes, if this is the case. Marketers are reminded that small print must not contradict claims (both explicit and implied) in the body copy.

As for “from” and “up to” price claims, In the past, the ASA has applied a rule of thumb that 10% of the products or services advertised should usually be available at the “from” price based on the 2010 BIS Pricing Practices Guide. In 2016, the CTSI published new Guidance For Traders on Pricing Practices, which states that when using the word “from”, advertisers must ensure that a significant proportion of the product or service is available at the lead-in fare.

Whilst the current guidance no longer uses the 10% rule, and instead states that a significant proportion should be available, it offers no further guidance on what is considered a significant proportion, and the ASA will investigate this on a case-by-case basis.

In the absence of the words “from” or “up to” in front of a price claim, consumers are likely to interpret the claim as meaning all products will be made available at the discounted price.

The availability of a product at the “from” price should be spread evenly across the advertised travel period and marketers should make clear the specific travel period to which an offer relates. As an example, the claim “Holidays available from May to October” is unlikely to be acceptable if holidays are not available in each month from May to October.

Marketers should ensure that availability is stated at prices for specific search criteria. In 2013, the ASA ruled that the marketer should ensure that only prices that are available for journeys meeting the search criteria are served to the consumer.

In addition, marketers should ensure that prompts and inducements are accurate and relevant, and beware of crossing the line into misleading pressure selling tactics: ads should not place undue pressure on consumers to make a decision to purchase.

The advice states that, in general, to avoid breaching the rules marketers should ensure that any claims intended to encourage consumers to take up a deal are both relevant to the offer in question and are supported by adequate evidence.

Finally, marketers that work with third parties should base their claims on prices provided by them and should have no control over price availability. To read the advice in full, click here.