to think that a prize of a family holiday should be available in school holidays?

[ihateminecraft]

I enter a lot of competitions. Not won anything much yet but I live in hope! I was about to enter one on "Take The Family" website to win a Mark Warner holiday. Checked the small print and saw that all school holiday dates were excluded. This is not the first time I've encountered this. I've not entered as I won't take my kids out of school but AIBU to think a family friendly company shouldn't be encouraging people to do so?!

The organisers want to be able to advertise a prize that sounds good, but don't want to pay the school holiday prices.

I agree up to a point.

But if the holiday is suitable for toddlers, then as long as they are clear about the limited dates (not buried somewhere in the small print) I don't see why they shouldn't offer it as a prize aimed at those families not yet locked in to term dates (in the company's interests to do this perhaps, to reel people in when DC are young in the hope they repeat at normal prices in later childhood).

Yabu, it's there in the fine print. Not all families have school going children.

There are also areas of the country whose holidays fall a week out to the rest of the country. Depending on how this contest is set up, they may be able to enter and go on their school holidays - which start a week earlier in July than elsewhere, for example.

Hmmm. Even the ones that don't stipulate dates say "subject to availability". What's the betting that if you tried to claim one of those in school hols it would be "sorry - all full!!"

YANBU. These prizes are useless for the majority of families with children, the very people the company is targeting.

I also get the bit about families with preschoolers and the fact that it's cheaper for the company for the prize to be in term time but you'd think the extra cost to companies like this would be a drop in the ocean and would allow any family the chance to go on a holiday they couldn't afford otherwise.

There are lots of families that wouldn't be affected by being stuck to English school holidays.
Families with young children. Families in Wales, Scotland or NI. Families with older children. Families without children. Families who don't care about the daft school rules telling you when to go on holiday.

They aren't encouraging anyone to do anything.

If it's the 'Best Holiday ..." Award, then there's only one category, out of many, that feature the word 'family'.

The sole definition of a family, is one that includes school educated children.

We went on a family holiday recently, which didn't include one child age 5-16.

We have to go outside of school holidays, because people can't get time off in August or December.

YABU, but I think that every child should be allowed one week off per year, for holidays, tbh.

Isn't one, that should have been.

I entered one recently to win James Villa vouchers. With that you could go when you want and top the money up if you wanted. Fingers are crossed!!

Also AIBU to ask if anyone has actually won one of these competitions😆

YANBU. Mark Warner can well afford to make one week available out of all their school holiday suitable holidays for the prize. It will all come out of their marketing budget anyway.

But if you do win (fingers crossed) 'we have won a holiday and can only go in term time' seems reason enough to me to take them out of school for a week (providing it doesn't directly clash with GCSE/A-level exams).

YANBU .... they're not actually allowed to advertise it as a FAMILY holiday if it excludes school holidays. if it was advertised as 'A holiday for four' then they can. Cenre parcs got brought up on this last year i believe.

they're not actually allowed to advertise it as a FAMILY holiday if it excludes school holidays

Bollocks. As if the word family only means people with school aged children!
And even then school holidays are not the same throughout the UK.

The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) have recently ruled that competitions can only be advertised with a "family holiday" prize if they can be taken in school holidays, in a case against Centre Parcs. It hasn't yet trickled down to all companies running competitions of this type but should start to improve. If you contact the ASA, they will follow this up with the promoter, and advise them that future giveaways need to be amended to apply.

I knew a family who won £2000 to spend on the holiday of their choice, when a new travel agents opened in town. It was brilliant for them, because they were a family of 6, and had never been abroad before. This was the late 90s, and they went to Spain.

I also know someone who won a car, and kept it for years, and I know someone who won the pools and paid off their mortgage.

I won a family day out on the radio once.

You never know with these competitions. Someone has to win. :)

I subscribe to Take The Family blog and that competition was run with a title that clearly said for families with preschoolers. Do you actually read the blog or do you go to one of those places that just links you to lots of competitions?

If anyone is interested in travelling with children Take the Family is an excellent blog.

I won a family break on a different website and it was definitely not a con. We had a young family, went in term time, and it was lovely. A luxury spa hotel in the UK but aimed at families.