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The Holiday Inn hotel chain was banned from claiming to offer guests a free breakfast in its marketing because the meal was already included in the price of the room.

Watchdogs slammed the group for a TV ad in which it boasted: 'After a comfy night's sleep, we give you a free breakfast' at its budget Express accommodation arm.

Customers pay for breakfast as part of their room rate whether they want it or not, said regulators the Advertising Standards Authority investigating after three TV viewers made complaints.

It is not possible to refuse breakfast in return for a cheaper room rate bill which means breakfast is not free, it ruled.

Ruling: Holiday Inn Express has been told it can't promote free breakfasts that are included in their room price

Holiday Inn Express said it had been offering free breakfasts since 1996 and advertising them as such since 2011, along with rival chains who did the same, it claimed.

Both the TV ad and the website of the chain made repeated boasts about its 'free' breakfast.

Holiday Inn Express claimed it did offer a free breakfast because the price of the room would be the same with or without the meal.

It had not put up the price of the room to include the cost of the breakfast so it was an additional benefit for guests without making them pay extra for it.

They argued it was the same in coffee shops. If a customer did not want the free wi-fi, they did not get a reduction in their cup of coffee.

Likewise, it added: 'It is not possible for a guest to book a room that was exclusive of the breakfast. If a guest did not take breakfast, they would not obtain a reduction on their bill.'

The ASA said this meant breakfast was 'inclusive' rather than 'free'.

It ruled: 'We noted guests would not be able to book a hotel room that was exclusive of the breakfast. We considered the hotel stay and the breakfast to be a package.

Banned: Holiday Inn say the chain has offered 'free breakfast' since 1996 and advertising them since 2011

'We do not consider the provision of breakfast to be an additional benefit that had recently been added to the hotel stay.

'We considered that the hotel room rate was inclusive of the breakfast, regardless of whether guests chose to take the breakfast.

'Therefore, we concluded that the claims "we give you a free breakfast" and "free breakfast" were misleading.'

The ads must not appear again in their current format and future ones must not describe breakfast as 'free.'