To wonder who can afford this? What do you spend on your holidays?

[Bridgeofpies]

I was flicking through a travel magazine and having the usual envy of the people enjoying sun drenched beaches, bustling exotic markets and artistic sunsets etc. So I had a look through at all the places to stay.

Almost all the hotels and accommodation (or a large proportion) were from £400 per night for a double room! Some were up to £700. It got me wondering - who actually stays in these hotels? They look amazing and I can imagine doing it for a one- off special occasion like a big anniversary or birthday but are there people who spend this on their “normal” holidays?

We are definitely well-off by most standards but wouldn’t consider this for a holiday! (Especially with 2 kids, it would be insanely expensive). Our last big blow out holiday was around £3500 but that was 2 weeks, all-inclusive, with flights and for all 4 of us!

So, just got me wondering, is it just billionaires and business travellers on expenses who stay in these places?

A much bigger room, nicer furnishings, extras like bathrobes, slippers, coffee making machine, nice toiletries, etc etc

After a certain point a room is just a room. We are lucky or mad enough to live in a v old cottage. When we are booking holidays anywhere advertising itself as having 'historic beams' just makes us giggle, we aren't paying extra for those!!! The room is just a nice base for us to go out sightseeing.

Bathrobes, slippers - meh!

Coffee-making machine - I don't drink it, DH does and prob won't like it. He wants the real deal not stuff from a machine.

Nicer toiletries - won't be used. We'll bring our own as I have ezcema and migraine.

Honestly, the stuff is wasted on us. Clean, quiet, good location, good customer service beats everything else everytime.

The cost of Med holidays is so high in the summer holidays. We have been looking at Sani in Halkidiki, and it would be around 1k a night for the four of us - for the same I am sure we could do Florida really really well. It seems crazy that so many people must pay so much money for a week in the sun.

Olga, I value turn down service. Alongside being run rose petal baths, pool assistants changing my towel whenever I get out of the pool + offer drinks and snacks, being able to ask the hotel chef to cook a particular meal that isn't even on the menu + having a very large room that's done up to the highest standards.

On city breaks, it's great to stay somewhere with eg panoramic views over the city and double baths etc.

But yes, these things cost as a lot more staff is required and a hotel can fit in 100 plush rooms instead of 300 smaller ones in the same space.

I was a travel agent for 35 years prior to retirement. TBH yes people do pay these stupid IMO amounts of money but IME, apart from people treating themselves for special occasion , they tend to be predominantly those who earn massive bonuses in their jobs and use these to pay for the holidays. My nephew is a prime example!

Through work I have had the opportunity of staying in many of these properties but I honestly have often been left quite deflated as my expectations weren't really matched by the reality. ☹️ What you often find is that the people who are treated like little tin gods at these properties are those who are regular clients and who have equally wealthy contacts. It's like any business really.

Nowadays I tend to go still for very nice 4 and 5* hotels - no agents' discounts now . Very often they are just as good and sometimes even better and certainly more welcoming unless you have bucketloads of cash

I would value being run a rose petal bath

My last holiday was 10 days in India and cost about 2k all in I think. Most of that was flights. It definitely wasn't a family holiday though, I went with friends and there was lots of roughing it in not very comfy rooms. But we did loads of stuff there, which is where I'd rather spend money. I'm not too fussed where I actually sleep as long as it's safe. I couldn't imagine spending 10-20k on a holiday! That's more than my annual salary!

Ha, mentioned the thread to DH, the coffee snob.

His view was that if said hotel was in Italy you would be nuts to spend the extra £300 for a 'nicer coffee machine' when you can go to any street corner and spend 2 euros on a decent espresso.

But it depends what you want to prioritize on your holiday.

If a hotel realises you will spend money on food and wine, for example booking in to their speciality restaurants before you arrive, you will often find you are upgraded to a suite on arrival. Likewise, if you book a driver to collect you and give your flight details, all that will surely inform their picture of your likely spend. Sure its not always accurate, perhaps they upgrade you and you don't drink alcohol and ask for tap water!

Just as a contrast to my earlier post, I will be back in the UK soon and am quite happily to spend a few nights at £85 in Northumberland.

Difference between a £200 o a £400 room can be vast, apart from all the usual quality tea/coffee/toiletries/ robes and so on can be a larger room, suite perhaps, a stunning view, laundry service inclusive, fruit, flowers (which I always like), mini bar that you dont have to think about ,club access/cocktails etc, maybe a separate breakfast experience the list can go on.....

olga my DC love turn down particularly if it comes with chocolates, they also like individual personalised welcome gifts!

Most of ours have been paid for with bonuses from work.
We've often spent at least £6k a year.
We love cruises and some cruises have cost that alone for two weeks in summer holidays. We've had a few carribean winter holidays and then holidayed in the UK in summer. We have a cottage an hour and a half away so use that loads. Also done lots of short city breaks using budget airlines which have been really cheap.
When DC was small we got some great bargains but around 12 it gets more expensive but now it's back to mainly DH and I out of school holidays so much cheaper. DD is 18 this year and going abroad with her boyfriend.

Dh loves holidays and doesn’t blink at over £1000 a night for a hotel room. Personally I nearly faint as he pays the bill, (incidentally I also refuse to acknowledge the amount of money he spends per month on sky tv) but he works hard, it’s something he gets pleasure from and I’m deffinately not suffering when staying there with him so I let it go. I think it depends how much disposable income you have coupled with priorities. I don’t have the same kind of income and so couldn’t justify it. I would be more inclined to spend on home improvements.

I've spent £5000 on our summer holiday this year for a week in Spain . I know it's a lot but it suits our needs and we can easily afford it . If you hover think it you realise it's bonkers but 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

We spend, on average, between £8-10k a year on holidays. This year that will do:
one week in the Canaries, AI, in the Easter holidays for 5 of us,
one week in the U.K. at the beginning of the summer holidays for 5 plus spends,
one week in a gite in Brittany for the 5 of us in August,
one luxury long weekend in Europe for DH and me,
and a weekend away for each of us.

Our household income has just hit 6 figures and we live in Greater London. It's a lot but I feel like we get reasonable value for it.

Re business travel - if you have the kind of job where you travel all the time you rack up shit loads of avios and hotel points - then you fly first class for just the taxes and stay in hotels super cheap.

Don’t think my boss has paid for a personal holiday flight in years!

I just hope that the room cleaners get a tip. They deserve it.

I might add that like many others here, we also take two holidays a year, in Spring and Summer. The Spring one is always in the UK, the summer one sometimes overseas. This April we're staying in a caravan on the N. Yorkshire coast, for 10 days for £678.

As for hotels, if doing short city breaks we usually stay in Holiday Inn Express ones - £57 per night for a perfectly nice room sleeping up to four and unlimited breakfast buffet, which suits us fine.

Our income is about £43k gross, no mortgage, but also currently saving £170 each month for a special holiday in '23 for our silver anniversary year. Groceries are all Asda own brand including Smart Price, and we have one car which is thirteen years old. No eating out. Holidays are important to us, so we make sure we can afford the two every year.

Definitely true about free flights/hotel rooms if one family member is a frequent flyer.

We have had holidays abroad in the US with free business class flights due to dh's air miles, and free hotel rooms due to it being the hotel he always stays at on business trips.

This is insane. Honestly it's completely opened my eyes. £1000 in the city I live in is rent for 2 months, not one night! But I strongly believe everyone should be able to spend their money the way they want.

What I'd absolutely love to know is what everyone does for jobs to have this much disposable income. Is it all things like doctors, lawyers, working in banking/finance?

We spent £3100 roughly for 4 of us (one free kids place) all inclusive 11 nights in Menorca. We budget £300-£3500 for hols and about €1000 for spending and emergencies as well as credit cards for anything needed we make sure they are clear before travel.

We have another couple nights away during 6 week hol just a costal over night and then we go away over night for New Years

It’s about what you can afford.

Also, we're in Scotland, so escape the really silly prices by starting our holidays in late June into the first fortnight into July.

"What I'd absolutely love to know is what everyone does for jobs to have this much disposable income. "

DH - university lecturer, I'm an SAHM.

What I'd absolutely love to know is what everyone does for jobs to have this much disposable income. Is it all things like doctors, lawyers, working in banking/finance

One GP, one finance/investment (in Greater London area so higher wages anyway)

I recently had a conversation with a guy who owns a travel agency (IKR I assumed they'd all gone the way of the dodo!)

He had just arranged a holiday for a family of 4 - they were celebrating selling their business that they'd founded 20 years ago for a 7 figure sum.

Their holiday cost over £100k.

I can't imagine spending that amount on something that yeah might give you great memories but in practical terms leaves you with nothing but a sun tan and mosquito bites.

I personally wouldn't spend more than £600 per person per week. But then a) I don't have to stick to school holidays any more and b) I'm self-employed, so I have to factor in loss of earnings.