Holiday providers who hike prices in school holidays should be fined

[Mystuff]

.....and not parents who are just victims of the system!!

Parents are easy targets, but the real problem IMO, is that it is ok for holiday providers to hike their prices.

So Aibu to think there is a way of fining these companies?

IMO family holidays are of huge benefit to children and it really angers me that parents should be forced to spend so much more than other people, or that kids should miss out on that quality time with their families.

Targeting parents is so wrong IMO, they are victims of the whole situation.

It's a free market unfortunately. Any attempt to equalise holiday and term time prices would just result in a rise in term time prices.

erm, it's called economics isn't it, the law of supply and demand. Holiday companies are there to make a profit, and will charge what they can get away with - the same as most businesses.
I can't afford to take a holiday in term time or holiday time, so instead I stay at home and we have days out...

holiday companies are not providing a public service.

Of course it would be lovely if prices stayed the same year round however it's business. There's no law saying you have to go on holiday.

Mystuff, they are not hiking the prices in holiday times, they are lowering them in out of season times, to attract people in.

Free market and all that.

Holiday companies are not there to provide a favour. They are there to make money. It does suck, but that's just life.

That's just ridiculous.
Holiday companies are a business. You could say they price their holidays (at August prices) then choose to discount them out of season.

Do you think that shops shouldn't be allowed to sell stuff off at the end of the day because they do that cheaper (or the way you put it, never sell it at full price)?
Do you think clothes shops shouldn't be able to see clothes at full price because they off load their 'end of season' stock cheaper in the sales ?

Or are you only thinking travel companies should be unable to trade freely ?

It's supply & demand . They could say that the school holiday prices are the usual price & that the term time holidays are discounted.

So there is no way in a "free market" to equalise access to products for parents of school age children?

Is there no argument to do with equality?

I don't see it as being about a right to a holiday, it's about recognising the huge benefit to children of family holidays, in the modern world where family time can be severely limited through the year

You are basically complaining about capitalism.

Which is perfectly reasonable in itself, but not if your only complaint about it is holiday company pricing systems.

What?!

As said previously, they are a private company, supply and demand, not providing a public service wtc

Ok, what about tax breaks for companies that equalise prices?

Out of interest, who would impose the fine, on what basis and how would you suggest it be calculated?

Should we also extend this to restaurants say who charge higher prices at Christmas?

So no one has any solutions that don't target parents and force them to pay more?

families can still have holidays - but they either save up and have less frequent foreign ones or have more home ones

We can't afford to go abroad this year as we usually miss 3/4 days of school to do it - so we are camping and have rented a house in Dorset for a week in August

It sucks but it's not the holiday companies responsibility to make a loss so we can get a tan

I don't understand mystuff in a free market why should they lower prices just because you and I decided to have children? It's not a courtesy, it's a loss in profit and potentially jobs in order to give you a reduction on a holiday because you made a lifestyle choice in having children.

Who mentioned foreign holidays? All holidays are more expensive in school holidays.
If that is not the case, please illustrate

They charge what the market will bear. They drop the price in term time because there are fewer people who can go then so the holidays are harder to sell.

Mystuff No, there is no way in a free market to equalize access to products - you buy what you can afford to! Why on earth would a business cut it's prices to let people who can't afford stuff buy it, when they can make a better profit charging higher? They aren't doing you a favour, they're running a business!

And you don't need to fly abroad to get the benefit of a holiday - there are great big gaps in between school terms so families can enjoy time together - you don't need a discounted trip to Lanzarote in order to get some quality time out of that!

This ridiculous argument is everywhere at the moment.

I like to go out at Christmas time but find that sometimes restaurants are more expensive - should they drop their prices. No - supply and demand!

Those with younger children can take advantage of the cinema during the day when it's cheaper but I have to wait until the weekend when it costs more - am I moaning about that? No - supply and demand!

Victims? - get a grip!!!

The parents were warned that there might be a fine, they were fined and then thought that they were about the law because they felt it was their RIGHT to go on holiday.

easily :) we had a week camping near Cheddar last year - it cost £120 and there was a pool and entertainment

Holidays are indeed more expensive during the school holidays mystuff but not just for parents. For anyone who decides to take a holiday during one of those 12 weeks.

Words fail me at the stupidity of this OP

Why don't we ban Heinz beans from being more expensive than tesco ones too. In fact fuck it lets just become communist.

Ohhifruit, but not loss of profit surely, just spreading prices more fairly through the year

Parents would seem to be subsidising non-parents