Travel firm On the Beach, which recently escaped censure over claims it used Paddy McGuinness’ broad Bolton accent to turn “booking genius” into “fooking genius”, has now been grounded over claims that customers could get unlimited “free airport lounge access” on top-notch breaks.
The ads, including a TV spot and claims on its website, were devised by Quiet Storm and implied that any customer who made an eligible booking for a five-star holiday would receive the free access.
But one disgruntled customer rifled off a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority after discovering there was a cap on the total number of passes that could be offered, and challenged whether the ads omitted significant information and were misleading.
In response, On the Beach stated the “cap” on the availability of free passes was a reflection of the natural capacity limitations of airport lounges, rather than one it had imposed. The company also highlighted that its terms and conditions explained lounge passes were subject to capacity limitations, and that any eligible customers who could not receive free lounge access would be provided with a cash alternative.
To support its argument, the firm also provided data in relation to bookings made between February and August 2025 that were eligible for free airport lounge access. It insisted these figures demonstrated that approximately 93% of bookings made during this period received the free airport lounge access as advertised; the others received the cash.
However, when the ASA studied the same figures, the regulator discovered that during popular periods – notably a single week in June 2025 – approximately 44% of eligible customers did not receive the passes, indicating a significant chance of consumers missing the offer.
The watchdog stated: “The overall impression of the ads was that as long as consumers complied with the conditions of the offer, they would receive free airport lounge passes, whereas that was not the case. Because the ads did not make clear that the cap meant passes were limited, and therefore consumers might not receive them, we concluded that the ads were misleading.”
Banning the ads from appearing again in their current form, the ASA went on to warn On the Beach over future campaigns.
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