Charged more for being a single parent - again!

[rantymcrantface66]

Name changed for this as I've ranted about this elsewhere so probably outing! I also KNOW I am not being unreasonable- just posting here for traffic.

I've always been aware single parents lose out on holidays abroad and on family tickets for attractions but the other week I was searching for hotel accommodation and when I went back to look at place I was interested in for a second look I noticed the price was quite a bit cheaper. Then realised that I'd entered 2 adults (as that's always the default) and 2 kids instead of one adult and 2 kids. It was actually cheaper, not the same price as it works on holiday to have the extra adult even though it INCLUDED a cooked breakfast. I considered just booking for 2 adults then saying one couldn't attend on arrival but ended up finding and booking somewhere else

Well I've just booked camping and received a second more detailed invoice to the original booking reference. The campsite gives a price for 2 adults (actually it states 2 people) then charges extra for dc over 5. They've charged me for 2 dc despite me only using one of the 2 person allocation on the original tariff. It's not a lot but it's the principle and I'm going to challenge it. It's made me realise how often this must happen and I might not have even noticed. I wonder how often they've got away with this. Same with the hotel, had I not accidentally put the wrong adult number in I'd never have realised.

Anyone got any other examples of ridiculous cost discrimination for single parents? Or have I just been unlucky?

Two years ago, we went to Santa's Grotto. The charge was £17 per child (with lots of activities and a gift from Santa) and £3 per adult (with a hot drink). Just an example of somewhere charging less for adults and why.

@Marty13 that would have been my plan with the hotel but I ended up booking somewhere else. I only discovered the price difference (it was about £70,so significant) by accident as I wasn't searching for 2a2c. The camping it didn't give a price breakdown til after I'd booked and paid.

Could you take a 12 year old as an adult in that case (with a younger child) though? As they would just want a hot drink not the children's activities.

@subsy1
Sorry, that was about the Santa's grotto.

@rantymcrantface66

Most hotels you have to pay the same room rate whether there’s one or two adults in it, are you saying they charge one adult, more than two adults?

Yes in the hotel case they were charging more for 1 adult and 2 dc than they were for 2 adults and 2 dc (and it included breakfast)

In the camping case they are charging more for 1 adult and 2 dc than they would for 2 adults and 1dc - adding 2 dc supplements even though the base rate pre supplement is based on 2 people

Sometimes it is just their automated system that recognises ‘room’ plus how ever many children rather than total number of people. I just put a child in the adult space if that happens. Never had it with one of the big chains as I presume they get their IT sorted out better!

Single people without children get ripped off at every turn where holidays/rooms are concerned. Its we who pay for all these free child places and supplements that families get. For that reason I stopped booking package holidays and made my won arrangements.

The only way around it is to travel off season, book direct with the hotel and bargain hard. If they have empty rooms available you can often get free upgrades when you arrive at the destination as they dont want you going anywhere else. This works best with non package destinations.

Sometimes it is just their automated system that recognises ‘room’ plus how ever many children rather than total number of people. I just put a child in the adult space if that happens. Never had it with one of the big chains as I presume they get their IT sorted out better!

I did generously think that at first for the camping too I checked back to the original booking confirmation who stated that the booking will be checked over by a team member who will send an invoice so it's not just an automated system. It's been manually made by a human.

The hotel also is room (assuming 2 adults with included full breakfast plus 2dc plus an extra £70 for no known reason on top of paying for 2 adults inc breakfast when there is only 1. So imagine for 2 nights 2 adults and 2 dc was 215. 1 adult and 2dc was 285 despite needing 1 less adult meal.

@rantymcrantface66

No there are no free child places - the hotel I can't explain as it was only a 3 bed room so no under occupancy charge as second child expected to share and even with under occupancy it would surely just be the same price as having a second adult not less (and breakfast costs - just baffles me)

The camping is just a 2 person (clearly means 2 adult but doesn't say that) then an extra cost for adding dc. It clearly states X2 on the child charge in the breakdown but this breakdown is only supplier after booking. Only the overall cost is shown pre booking and in the first booking confirmation so easy to miss.

Maybe they have worked out or assumed that two parents spend more in the bar, order more food and wine at dinner etc so it's a loss leader to make it cheaper for them than a single parent. Still rubbish though.

Single people without children get ripped off at every turn where holidays/rooms are concerned. Its we who pay for all these free child places and supplements that families get. For that reason I stopped booking package holidays and made my won arrangements.

I get that's annoying too, and it works the same for single parents who don't get to make use a a free child spot as it needs 2 adults paying full price. (The rooms are often then 2 person rooms with extra bed crammed in for dc so not necessarily supplemented)

This use to drive me insane too, not as a single mother but as an infertile woman strugling with secondary infertility - I dont get how having 2 kids is CHEEPER than have 1 but it was a real kick in the teeth when we where already down.

Never seemed fair, my DS was already missing out on so much and it felt like an extra slap in the face to always be charged more.

For instance he was in a lot of after school clubs (because he didnt have siblings to play with at home so this was the only way he really got to be around other kids to play other than breaktime at school) and one year the club tripled their summer school price.

Loads of parents kicked off about not being able to afford it so they made it a 'pay for one child get another free and add a 3rd at a discount' (so they would only be paying a little more than they normally would for 2 or 3 children).

However we where the ONLY family in the class with just one child which they knew so we would be paying the price of 3 children in previous years for just 1 child.

They could have just halved the price to keep it fair but the basicly decided to excluded just our child for not having a sibling - their response when we pointed it out just bring another child like a cousin (DS doesnt have any cousins and we dont randomly have access to other children or we wouldnt be paying a fortune to come there in the first place so he could socialise).

Same at the cinema one, they had family combo tickets which where all discounted, 'family tickets' included:
1 adult 1 child
1 adult 2 children
1 adult 3 children
2 adults 2 children
2 adults 3 children
but zero option for 2 adults and 1 child, like that family set up just doesnt exist .

I agree @mam0918 3 seems a number that loses out whether it's 2a and 1dc or 1a and 2dc. At least the former is likely to have 2 incomes but it's still the principle plus it's also more outgoings.

@subsy1

Two years ago, we went to Santa's Grotto. The charge was £17 per child (with lots of activities and a gift from Santa) and £3 per adult (with a hot drink). Just an example of somewhere charging less for adults and why.

Yes, but that's because it is for the children. There can't be many grown adults choosing to see Father Christmas or hang out at soft play. Zoos and theme parks and most other attractions are for the whole family.

The op who mentioned attractions sometimes being more expensive for kids specifically mentioned zoos. I wondered which zoos.

I was looking at a hotel in Turkey the other day for next year - it was hotel only through Travel Republic - when I put in 2 x adult and 1 x child, an apartment was X total price but when I put in 1 x adult and 1 x child it was £160 more (around 25% more)

As a single parent with one child I always booked as two adults .... loads cheaper!!

@FreakinFrankNFurter that's possibly because the smallest room they have available sleeps 3 so they are charging you for being under occupied. Annoying but normal on foreign holidays.

@mam0918 I've found that as well - family packages are only available to 2 adults + 2 DCs it seems. Ditto interconnecting rooms. We once had to pay half board for an invisible child or share a room with DS. It's a bit infuriating, plus when you go away with friends it seems a bit tight to say you have 2 DC and I have 1, rather than just splitting per family but it is a bit of a slap in the face with secondary infertility.

@rantymcrantface66 (love the user name!)

That wasn’t the case, it was the total price - eg it was £630 for 2+1 but £790 for 1+1. Self catering apartment

@FreakinFrankNFurter ah so similar to my hotel example then - except this was including breakfasts so it was cheaper to have an extra person and to have 2 extra adult meals 🙃😆