AIBU to think people must be a bit naive

[bicuriousgeorge]

to think that petitioning the government to fix holiday prices during school holiday's is a good idea.

I mean we live in a free market, why would we want government intervention on what a company can charge for something? If they did intervene where would price fixing stop?

As a general ruling fixing prices tend to result in a reduction in supply.

I would not be interested in using a nationalised holiday provider.

Really? You wouldn't be interested in an NHS-type service relocated to Spain?

I don't think my holiday preferences are related to my health choices or needs.

And I have never had a holiday provided by NHS and didn't know they provided them at all. I suppose if I had a condition for which the doctor prescribed a holiday, that might change. But I can't actually think of any.

That was a poor attempt at humour.

Imo they are hardly going to bring the prices down in the holidays. If the petition did happen, what is more likely to happen, is it will just become more expensive to term time!! So expensive for everyone yay!

Saucy Staffing costs as a whole may well be higher in the summer, due to the need for seasonal staff, higher levels of maintenance etc. Before we had school aged children, we often used to go on holiday in September or June. Everything is closed! All the people who work to keep the water parks/ theme parks/ kids crap open in the summer need to be paid!

Butlins, or wherever won't pay their staff 3x the price for working August compared to other times of year, but they will have more staff working seasonally to cope with more guests taking up more rooms, activities and buying more food and drink.

While it's not nice to be restricted to school holidays only and then having to pay high prices, it simply is supply and demand and no different from people not being able to afford other luxuries such as expensive sports cars, and I say that as someone whose only holidays as a child were a week in the May school holidays at places like Butlins.

I didn't go abroad on holiday until I was in my thirties, as I simply could not afford it any sooner.

Fancy

That's a good point actually, Europe's peak season is July to August because of the weather not just because of school holiday's.

I have never had a problem about out of term time prices being high.
I understand supply and demand.
I cut my cloth appropriately. When the children were young I couldn't afford a fortnight in the Canaries or where ever at peak time so I didn't go. I did something else. It's nice to go on holiday but not a right. Do what you can afford andmakethe most.

Now he children are older i am enjoying going abroad at different times of the year and a cheaper price and not clogged up with families and school kids.

A friend posted this on Facebook last night but I read it and decided it was not a very well thought out petition. The government can't tell overseas hotels and resorts what to charge.

I've managed to find a week in a caravan in France for the first week of the Easter school holidays for £360 for four of us. Ok it's Normandy so chances of sunshine are pretty slim and we may freeze to death if it snows like last Easter but we will enjoy being together and there is an indoor pool. I do keep checking and re checking our booking to make sure I haven't made a mistake with the dates as it seems so cheap!

We will go camping in Devon in the summer holidays , and it will be lovely ( even in the rain!).

Something came up on my Facebook the other day, a screenshot of Center parcs website with price for a week before half term, then half term week, then week after, naturally with a much much higher price for the half term week, and saying how outrageous of Center Parcs to charge that much.

Holiday companies are commercial operations with the purpose of making a profit, not charitable organisations with the purpose of providing families with a nice holiday. They have a duty to their shareholders to maximize profit. Should they keep prices during holiday time at off-peak levels and say to their shareholders "yes, sorry, we could have made you all much more money this year, however we decided to give people cheap holidays this year instead". Should they say to the staff that will be made redundant because of profit reduction, oh sorry, we know you need this job but we wanted to give people cheaper holidays this year". Should they say to the government who will lose tax revenue "oh sorry, we wanted to pay more in corporation tax, and PAYE and for our employees to keep jobs and pay VAT on purchases rather than cost the tax payer in benefits, but we wanted to give people cheaper holidays this year"

Staggerly naive. If people weren't happy to pay the higher prices, the prices wouldn't be that high.

I have also read people declaring "it's a rip off", or they are being conned.

I mean the price is not hidden is it, it's not being ripped off really is it?

I don't go to buy an expensive car because I can't afford one, I don't buy one them claim I've been ripped off and the government should intervene.

Yes I think sometimes people get confused about what "rip-off" actually means. As long as you know what you are getting and know now much it will cost you, and you do then get what you think you are getting, it's not a rip off, it's a choice.

Yes, but flowery dontcha know a week on the sun is educational and a right.

YANBU, but I long ago stopped being amazed at how ready people are to invite government meddling legislation in their pet causes.

I wouldn't mind so much if they weren't also so vehemently opposed to government meddling legislation in areas which happen NOT to be their pet causes.

You get one sort, you get the other, because the government changes its stripes every 10 years.

So what about the petition then to stop them putting up the cost of flights and holidays over bank holiday weekends

I saw that FB thing about Center Parcs Flowery.

The term time price was £500 and the easter hols price was £1100. Both were for 4 days and I think it's self catering only? So you would have food/travel activities on top of that?

Now I've never understood the attraction of Center Parcs perhaps because bumsex is something that I can take or leave, but even £500 is fucking extortionate considering that I've just paid £800 for a week's B+B for two incl flights to Tenerife in early April.

But if they can get people stupid enough to pay £1100 to sleep in a shed for 4 nights, good luck to them.

That's exactly it though isn't it Gin. I think CPs is ridiculous too but enough people are prepared to pay it for them to be fully booked all school holidays. It's those idiots people who need dealing with - it's them wot's keeping the prices high

I got the snapshot of centre parks price and just roled my eyes and didn't give a toss to be honest.

My view, as its always been, if people will pay that much the place will charge it.
If they find they haven't got customers the price will come down.

If I was in business I would do exactly the same.

Its incredibly naive and entitled.
Holidays are a luxury and if you can't afford one you do without, just like previous generations had to do.

If they DID fix the prices (which they can't), the school holiday dates would just book up incredibly fast, wouldn't they? They'd end up booked up years ahead.
Also there would be illegal resale and holidays changing hands for many times the proper price on the black market.

Naive is a very generous description.

Agree with OneSleep.

And if we had price fixing in Britain for a holiday abroad what would stop people overseas buying them and getting a flight to UK first.
It's simply ridiculous!

It's naive and a terrible waste of time and energy.

Yanbu

YANBU, holidays are not a bloody right.