New research has revealed that many Brits are paying well over the odds for their UK self-catering holidays, with some paying up to a quarter more than necessary, and some as much as 46% more.
Independent Cottages, which conducted the research, has discovered that, on average, booking a holiday home direct with the owner saves around 22% of the cost when compared with booking through an Online Travel Agent (OTA) such as AirBnB, HolidayLettings, Tripadvisor or HomeAway.
In times of uncertainty and making every penny count, the average saving works out at £211 per booking.
This is the equivalent of:
- 3.5 x the average UK household’s weekly food shop
- More than 4.5 months of morning coffee on the way to work
- Nearly double the cost of a standard annual Netflix subscription
- A new basic laptop for the kids’ new school year
- Annual family National Trust membership with money left over
Holidaymakers heading for Norfolk faced the biggest fees on average, paying 24% or £244 more for a stay in a holiday cottage when booking through an OTA compared to booking directly.
Holiday properties in the New Forest and Lake District were next highest, at 23% more expensive, or £259 and £211 respectively. They were followed by Yorkshire at 22% (£146), Cornwall at 21% (£222) and the Cotswolds at 17% (£184).
However, one property in the New Forest came with a whopping 46% or £1,358 saving when booking directly. It was priced at £1,600 on the owner’s website, or for the exact same period in October, on the same dates with an OTA, it was priced at £2,958.
Not only are there massive savings to be had, booking directly gives holidaymakers access to the owner’s knowledge of their property, the local area and the opportunity to speak to the owner before paying anything.
Sarah Jarvis, Owner and co-founder, Independent Cottages, said: “We always knew that, compared to an Online Travel Agent, holidaymakers saved money when booking direct, but until we carried out the research we had no idea just how much.
“At a time of watching the pennies and not knowing what’s ahead in the coming months, we were shocked when we realised just how big the savings could be. The average saving of £211 could be a couple’s spending money for a weekend or a family’s day out. It seems like a no-brainer to go direct and have more pennies in your purse.”
Independent Cottages has more than 1,800 registered holiday homes, with lots of last minute availability and great deals for the rest of 2019 and 2020.
To book or to register your holiday home head over to https://www.independentcottages.co.uk/.