To be shocked at the prices of static caravan holidays ?

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My grandparents have a static caravan in a desirable location they spend 10 months of the year there. I always try to visit at least once a year and stay for a week we book separate accomodation so we aren't all on top of each other. I looked at the price this year August and next year August they are asking for over £1000 for a week. It's the same sized van we have always used which in previous years was £400.

I booked my summer holiday to Greece which cost £1300 self catering for 2 weeks. I'm very unwilling to pay the prices of holiday parks and will likely have to cut down our visits to 3-4 night breaks . AIBU to think this is utter greed? What will the holiday parks do when travelling abroad becomes much more popular again ?

Presumably prices will drop again. But I agree they have gone mad.

The prices are absolutely ridiculous I bookef ours in January and felt ripped off I checked the other day and it's 300 more now for the same van

One we used a few years ago has gone from £1,400 to £2,200 and they are fully booked. Often prices don’t come back down or not by as much because some will keep paying it.

One option is to book a b&b or hotel nearby, works out cheaper and you get breakfast. We started doing that years ago when our dc were little and it was about the same amount to have a caravan or big family room/two rooms in a hotel with indoor and outdoor pools and breakfast.

If people are paying it, then no prices won’t come down.

Good old economics again, it's simply supply and demand. I don't think it's greed, they're just charging what the market can bear. I guess if people vote with their feet, and go abroad instead, then the price will drop again. But you can't really blame the holiday park for charging what they believe people will pay. They are a business, after all.

Where do they live the other 2 months of the year?

@KaptainKaveman

Where do they live the other 2 months of the year?

In their house closer to the city. The park closes for 8 weeks of the year in the winter. It's common for retired people to do this.

Holiday providers in the U.K. have been absolutely clobbered by Covid. Their costs have also gone up. Everything is more expensive, staff are hard to find and cleaning costs have rocketed.

Lots of people won't or can't go abroad. So they are clawing back their losses.

What's surprising is that anyone is surprised

Have they really been clobbered by covid or are they just profiteering? They had summer 2020 when it was difficult to get abroad, so everyone went to the UK seaside, then the same in 2021. It was almost impossible to find somewhere to rent for families. In popular areas landlords have been getting rid of tenants and turning houses into holiday lets or airb&b's because there is much more money in that. Local people are finding it increasingly difficult to find homes to rent. I know costs have gone up for everything, but that is fairly recent. Holidays suppliers in the UK have been raking it in the last two summers.

I think static caravans were always expensive.

My sil paid 4K for one in St Ives about 3 years ago.

@Brownlongearedbat

Have they really been clobbered by covid or are they just profiteering? They had summer 2020 when it was difficult to get abroad, so everyone went to the UK seaside, then the same in 2021. It was almost impossible to find somewhere to rent for families. In popular areas landlords have been getting rid of tenants and turning houses into holiday lets or airb&b's because there is much more money in that. Local people are finding it increasingly difficult to find homes to rent. I know costs have gone up for everything, but that is fairly recent. Holidays suppliers in the UK have been raking it in the last two summers.

I don't know about you but I had to cancel U.K. holidays in 2020 and 2021 because of restrictions. We were in lockdown for huge chunks of both years. Yes, summer opened up but it's not just summer. Easter was a write off both years.

Even private owners on static sites where hit most still had full site fees charged or maybe £100 off even though they couldn’t actually use be that personally or let out their statics. The site owners where being very greedy there when they where not actually providing the service so private owners have paid out a lot for nothing while the site owners has kept there fees high, furloughed staff etc.

@budgiegirl

Good old economics again, it's simply supply and demand. I don't think it's greed, they're just charging what the market can bear. I guess if people vote with their feet, and go abroad instead, then the price will drop again. But you can't really blame the holiday park for charging what they believe people will pay. They are a business, after all.

This. Most holiday parks lost all income in 2020. Now people are clambering to stay with them, as businesses, they naturally pitch their prices at the top of what people will pay. It seems a huge amount to me, but we are all prepared to fork out different amounts of money for different things.

I do think prices have gone crazy. Our holiday cost 1k for a week out of season or 2.5k in high season. This is for a cottage in Devon, not near beach either. We are going for the cheaper option as even with school fines it's much cheaper.

Once restrictions fully lift abroad I think these people who rent these places out might find themselves having to lower their prices, which I am glad about as they are pricing low income families our of having a holiday. Most people are itching to go abroad, but are waiting until COVID restriction are fully gone.

We we got a lodge in Cornwall for a week in August with a private heated pool for £800, but booked early, prices do go up as you get closer.

It’s silly money, but people will pay. We house swap with other families, which is almost free, so I’m often surprised by holiday prices but it does not seem to stop people.

The economy is wrecked. Prices are skyrocketing. Covid is a factor, so is the way the government has mishandled Brexit. Goods from abroad cost way more now as trading is more difficult.

@KaptainKaveman

Where do they live the other 2 months of the year?

I know the OP says her DGPs spend the winter months in their house, but many older people who live in caravan parks will spend the closed winter weeks somewhere like Malta or Benidorm, where they can get accommodation very cheaply, likely less than what it costs to put the heating on in the UK.

But if people will pay, they'll charge the prices. It's probably cheaper than what Center Parcs want to stay in a shed in the woods.

A lot of people live in statics for 10 months and then rent winter flats or what not for two months. It’s a local handshake. The flat owners who rent for holiday makers have nobody wanting to come for window due to everywhere being shut so the garaging livers month in for the shut down win win. They tend to go back to the same flats every year too.

We were looking at our favourite haven, perran sands in cornwall for may half term. A super tent, so not even a van is £1500 for a week and you have to share the minging shared toilets and shower block! The cheapest caravan was substantially more!

@Clymene this! I’m baffled as to why people don’t seem to understand the reason for the price hikes. If they want to stay open after having taken such a battering during covid, this is necessary.

@Coasterfan my sister is going to Rivière Sands in May. Booked last year for £450. Could you try looking now for next year?

@PenStation How do you go about house swapping? Is it with people you already know?