Is there such a thing as a last minute deal these days?

[scaredydog2]

I was just reading the eurocamp thread as I fancy it for next year but DH isn't as keen. He said " we should see if we can hold our nerve and book last minute. We might get a deal". I'm more cautious and said we might get no holiday 😬😬
Can one still get a last minute deal in august summer holidays ? I get that maybe it's a thing outside of school holidays but is it possible in the main English school hols? Any experiences would be great to hear. Good and bad. I sound like a journalist. I'm not. I'm just desperately needing a holiday to look forward too

IMO no, gone are those days ! Especially in the summer holidays. The prices have really shot up this year.
Maybe a week for 2 people in term time you might get a cheap deal if you're lucky but summer hols not a chance

Yes this is my fear. Though this year whole away there were moments of "why did we do this. It was so much money !" (We paid £3400 for a week in lanzarote. Hotel beautiful but was still buffet AI albeit nice food ) and I would have got a lush hotel once upon a time for that. A friend got a late deal but maybe two weeks to go but more a 5* price point for a really lovely place so I think maybe £4k

I looked during this August and couldn’t find any good last minute deals.

There really haven’t been last minute deals in the same way as there used to be for the last couple of years. Flight capacity is still majorly down on pre-Covid.

There might be some deals but I think waiting too late could be risky. Plus you usually miss out on any free child places if you wait too late - and they’re one way of making a big saving.

Trouble with that strategy is that you might miss out entirely if everything is booked up.

last minute deals are still really good during term time.

Not like back in the day when I went to menorca for a week for £90 through last minute.com or
Ceefax deals. I think those deals are well and truly gone.

Largely gone I think. Airlines have really condensed and stripped back their operations with the intent of every flight being full, and operators have changed the way they work with hotels and airlines, the old commitments and guarantees are becoming a thing of the past, so Tour Ops no longer end up with empty committed rooms and seats that they'd sell cheap to cut their losses.

I've worked in travel all my life and the pandemic has completely changed the business, for those who were lucky enough to come out of it with their business intact.