Self-catered accommodation prices soar after pandemic
Self-catered accommodation in the UK is now on average 40 per cent more expensive than in summer 2019.
Analysis from consumer group Which? and BBC Panorama, found holidaymakers were paying an average of £300 more per week in August compared to the last summer before the pandemic.
The average cost of one night of self-catered accommodation for two people in Brighton rose 89 per cent from £109 in 2019 to £206 this summer.
The average cost for the same holiday in Lyme Regis shot up by 74 per cent. A stay in August 2019 was £150 and has now risen to £260.
AirDNA tracks websites such as Airbnb and Vrbo, although Airbnb has previously said figures from third parties can be misleading.
Owners of holiday rentals told BBC Panroma they had had to increase prices in response to their own costs – such as additional cleaning – rising since the pandemic.
Which? Analysed the price difference between a staycation in the UK and an international holiday.
Prices for late August staycations for two people in the UK and were compared to breaks abroad.
One week in Brighton came to £1,131, while a hotel in Nice in the south of France, cost £1,085, including flights.
A week in Lake Windermere in the Lake District cost £2,424, compared to just £802 for a week in Lake Garda in Italy.
Which? travel editor Rory Boland said: “We’re not talking about £10, we’re not talking about the cost of a meal out. We’re talking… hundreds and hundreds of pounds.
“When we looked at it, accommodation prices in 2019 were more expensive in the UK than they were abroad. So this isn’t a pandemic problem only, the pandemic has made it worse.”