AIBU to think there seriously needs to be something done about holiday prices?

[TokenGinger]

I don't have kids so I've never noticed how much prices actually go up! I start a new job in September so I'm looking for a short 3 night break in August before I start for DP and me.

I'm disgusted!!! Last year, my mum, cousin and I went to Salou for 4 nights, half board, flights included for a total of £361 (for all 3 of us) in September! To book this same holiday in August is £1021.

There seriously needs to be something done about it! That's only for two of us! For three nights! How can parents afford to pay for summer holidays for their kids alongside the cost of every day life?!

Hardly on the top of the government's agenda, but I really think this needs to be cracked down on!

[Costacoffeeplease]

How do you propose the government 'crack down'? As with everything, it's the law of demand and supply, who should subsidise the airlines, hotels, restaurants?

How much profit do you think there was on the £361 for 3 of you?

[DrDre]

What can they do though? It's supply and demand. The only thing I can think of is staggering school holidays, but that would be unfair if you had children in schools with different holidays.

[ChiefClerkDrumknott]

Um, what exactly do you want the government to do about it? Supply and demand etc....

[DrDre]

Croos post :-)

[Carmenandgetit]

It is actually that prices are too low the rest of the year. I heard Simon Calder talking about this once and he said most firms operate at a loss when it is not school holidays.

[FenellaFellorick]

yup. It's a bugger.

supply and demand.

They say that it is not a price hike, but that they discount holidays out of season.

truth is of course that they take advantage in order to make money.

That's business.

I don't think the government is going to do anything about it, I'm not sure they can legislate for how much businesses charge.

And even if they could, the businesses would just turn round and say ok fair enough, we maintain that this is the price and we only give discounts out of season, so we'll fix our prices at the higher rate all year round.

Sheilas wheels, isn't it? stomp stomp not fair women get lower car insurance than men complain complain sexism ok you cant set prices based on gender fair enough women now have to pay more.

ta for that

point being - They don't adjust price downwards.

[TokenGinger]

I'm not too sure what I expect them to do, I'm just having a redundant rant.

I take the point at running at a loss throughout the rest of the year; that's a very fair point.

I guess it'd just be nice if holiday prices were balanced throughout the whole year, without peaks and troughs.

As I said, it doesn't really affect me, I don't have children. It was just one break I was looking at having which isn't essential. I just really feel for parents after seeing the prices they're expected to pay to take children on holiday. Which, of course, is not essential, I know.

[5446]

People aren't entitled to summer holidays though.

If it is something that is that important to you and you can only go in August, then you have to suck it up and pay.

[TokenGinger]

Balanced throughout the year at a fair price, I should say. Not at ridiculous prices

[Noodledoodledoo]

Not just parents but we won't go there.

Agree it is simple economics - only so many flights can physically go to one place in a day so tickets will run out so they can charge more.

Only so many bedrooms to house people in.

My sister books a year in advance to get the best deals, last minute is not the way to get a bargain!

[poorbuthappy]

I priced up a weekend and then a week in Bluestone for the 5 of us...

£2k for weekend and £3k for the week!!!

[PassMeTheFrazzlesPlease]

The government could remove the fines for term time holidays and give schools the discretion to authorise holiday absence - as they did up until a few years ago.

Since the fines were introduced, the number of families holidaying in term time has also reduced. So prices are cheaper (relatively speaking) in term time than they used to be, but holiday prices - during school holidays - have increased quite dramatically.

[TTWK]

Last year, my mum, cousin and I went to Salou for 4 nights, half board, flights included for a total of £361 (for all 3 of us) in September

You should have complained that it was far too cheap and that your trip was being subsidised by higher prices during the school holidays. But you didn't, you grabbed it and enjoyed yourself.

[FurtherSupport]

If people stopped paying it, it would soon be dealt with.

[Baddz]

Supply and demand?

[trollkonor]

Agree with the above posters.
What can the government actually do?
Its supply and demand. If they did manage to push some form of legislation through, say prices could only rise by x % in high season, then prices would just rise above the board and the high season prices wouldnt get lower.

[DadfromUncle]

This is a bit like the people complaining about high prices when concert tickets get sold on - the one and only thing that would stop it would be for people not to pay those prices.

If everyone said "no, that's nuts, I'm not going" the prices would soon come down.

I don't think the government should do anything - whatever governments do in cases like this tends to make things worse.

[TTWK]

Reduce the school summer hols to 3 weeks from 6 weeks. Add the 3 saved weeks onto the 3 half terms to make them 2 weeks instead of a week. That way there will be 6 school holidays a year of at least a fortnight in length. So more people could go further afield at these times, cutting down on the high demand for Xmas, easter and Summer trips abroad.

It's not the travel industry that needs to change, it's the schools.

[TokenGinger]

TTWK - very good point about the school holiday structure!

[Noodledoodledoo]

Sadly TTWK all I think that would achieve is 6 times of the year where travel companies will up their prices!

[JohnCusacksWife]

Nothing to do with the government. It's supply & demand, that's all.

[JohnCusacksWife]

...and why should kids lose out on their lovely long summer holidays just so that some people can go on holiday?