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Travelodge evacuates guests after water tank bursts
Budget hotel chain Travelodge has apologised and offered refunds to guests whose overnight stay was ruined when a water tank burst.
Some guests had to be moved to another hotel 30 miles away after a water storage tank at the Travelodge Oxford Peartree in Cutteslowe, near Oxford, ruptured late at night.
Guests had to be moved out of 47 rooms, but as there were not enough spare rooms to accommodate them all, they were forced to move to Travelodge hotels in Bicester and High Wycombe.
One family of five, who were moved to a room with just one bed, have since received a £39 refund, £100 in vouchers and £175 in compensation.
Travelodge spokeswoman Sophia Mead confirmed the burst tank had affected 47 rooms.
"As a result of this unfortunate incident, the fire alarm did go off on three occasions which resulted in the hotel having to be evacuated," she said.
"All customers were informed at the time of evacuation to the reason to why the fire alarm had gone off. The Fire Brigade checked the property and confirmed that the hotel was safe to operate.
"However as a safety measure, a handful of customers staying in the 47 affected rooms were transferred to nearby Travelodge hotels."
She said the fire department and guests were complementary on how the situation was handled by the hotel team.
"We did not receive any customer complaints as a result of this incident," she added.
"The water tank was fixed the following day and all customers staying at the hotel that night have been refunded in full and compensated."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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