Exorbitant costs are a common problem for families who exchange holiday breaks abroad for vacations.
Over Christmas and New Year, holiday accommodation has seen a surge in demand. Many providers have been sold.
Families who wanted to be with loved ones and celebrate after December 2020’s disappointment had already booked vacations this year.
Many are also looking for alternatives to winter holidays abroad due to new Covid testing regulations. But the surge in demand has driven up prices, with some properties costing more than £14,000 for a week over Christmas.
The average nightly rate between December 23 and 27 has jumped 30 per cent to £218 compared with the same period before the pandemic in 2019, according to the short-term rental property firm Guesty. Between December 30 and January 2, it is 93 per cent higher at £172.
After a difficult December 2020, many families were desperate to spend Christmas with their loved ones and had booked getaways in the early part of this year. Pictured: The Country Stables, Stroud, Gloucestershire, was listed this week at £14,647 on booking site Snaptrip
The average nightly rate between December 23 and 27 has jumped 30 per cent to £218 compared with the same period before the pandemic in 2019, according to the short-term rental property firm Guesty. Between December 30 and January 2, it is 93 per cent higher at £172. Pictured: The Victory Residence in Kingsdown, Kent
However, many accommodation providers are accused of charging horrendous prices that most families wouldn’t be able to afford.
For example, a seven-night break from December 23 at the Country Stables, a six-bedroom property in Stroud, Gloucestershire, was listed this week at £14,647 on the booking site Snaptrip.
And a six-bedroom house in Snowdonia was advertised by Sykes Holiday Cottages at £13,184 for the week starting on December 24. After raising prices for British holiday breaks, vacation firms were criticized this summer. Families had to choose between staying in the UK or going abroad. However, prices have risen since. The cost of certain rental properties – in Broadgate in the Lake District, Kingsdown in Kent and Ramsbottom in Lancashire, for example – is significantly up on prices at the peak of summer.
Four nights at Broadgate, Lake District (pictured) is up 39 per cent from £252 in summer 202to £351 in December this year
Five nights a tBabbling Brooks near Ramsbottom, Lancashire (pictured) is up 18 per cent from £1,444 in summer this year to £1,699
Rory Borland, travel editor of Which?, said: ‘Holidaying at home has always been expensive and the problem does not seem to be getting better. We have seen increased demand for UK holiday accommodation during the pandemic but some price hikes seem hard to justify and risk making a Christmas break in a popular destination too much of a stretch for many.’
However, companies report losing bookings when travellers from overseas were forced to abandon plans to visit the UK for the winter.
Jill Taylor, who owns South View Lodges in Exeter, Devon, said: ‘We have been booked for Christmas and New Year for six months. However, we had a cancellation two weeks ago as the guests were coming from South Africa and we haven’t yet managed to book it.’
According to experts, this will be filled by rising UK demand.
James Starkey, of holidaycottages.co.uk, said: ‘Demand has been really strong over the past few weeks, with a lot of people looking to get away from it all with family and friends over Christmas.
‘We expect this level of demand to continue into 2022 as travel plans may need to be put on hold with the potential of restrictions.’