Accomodation costs

We’re just trying to get organised on a couple of trips we are keen to take personally, and I’ve got a few business trips I’m arranging. All UK, mainly Scotland, across seasons.

It strikes me that prices have risen again.

Additionally a lot of self catering is now full week bookings, even hotels being full weekend only as well.

There is little ‘good value’ accomodation left, and even some of the hostels or wooden hut type places seem to be rising in price.

A few places are really pushing the charges – we’ve a couple of nights near Tongue on NC500 route and it was £120 a night for a wooden hut, a 1990’s caravan or someone’s spare room…

Anyone else finding this too?

Yeah it’s how the world is now. £100 seems to be the going rate, apart from the odd Premier Inn in winter… but once getting to summerish, it’s £100+. Even the Premier Inn at Fort William was £170 a night.

I’ve just found a bunkhouse place which wants £63 a night in a bunk roomed dorm of 20!

Yeah, loads of glorified camping pods for £90+ a night.

And don’t get me started on trying to find Airbnb accommodation with secure bike storage… Grrr. It’d help if there was a filter for it.

Anyone else finding this too?

I had to pop over to Edinburgh for an event and available accommodation for a Saturday night  in November ranged from £500 to £1000 for the night. I haven’t paid lass than £200 for midweek overnight in a Travelodge there for quite a while.

I worked there last year for 8 months and we had an accondation allowance of £370 per week and by the end of the stint places were wanting £330 per night. I think we can very realistically expect to see the festivals and  film industry (which was tipped to bring half a billion into the town over the next couple of years) in Edinburgh totally crash and burn over the next year if those sorts of prices persist.

Not just in the UK. We had a road trip in America a bit before Christmas and it was around $100 for a budget motel room (and that was definitely low budget in cleanliness and quality). Over $200 in Moab. All out of season and mostly empty places.

Yea, seems like the norm. You can still find the odd bargain but the last work trip I did we stayed in the Holiday Inn, M6, Junction something or other, near Stoke on Trent and it was eye wateringly expensive (and really, REALLY bad).

I think last year it seemed like they were all packed with a mix of UK holidays and kids sports (football, dance comps etc). I guess directly as a result of Covid and with 2 years worth of events being put off. Surprised they’re still high though, but then I guess £100+/night is still a lot cheaper than a foreign holiday.

Absolutely, some eye watering amounts for the glamping style stuff particularly.

Demand clearly outstripping supply, I really find this on the West coast of Scotland and the islands. Places I’ve got on my list to visit for years and never been due to some of the prices.

From the perspective of somebody who runs a holiday cottage:

Costs are rocketing for us too, energy for heating, laundry costs, travel costs to get to the property, fees for the booking portals (all approx 15%), new Scottish holiday let license, correct insurance, maintenance, appliances replacement, etc.

Additionally a lot of self catering is now full week bookings

Yep, on average we get a longer booking (3 weeks+) once a year, often in off season. That is worth far more to us than blocking the calendar out with odd weekends here or there. I would rather leave it empty waiting for a longer booking.

We have a holiday cottage in the garden we run and because of that frequent a few Facebook groups and the like.

Yes – there are some hefty prices out there. Airbnb especially – with flat rates with only minimum discounts for booking a full week making them very expensive for week long stays.

Scotland specific – a new licence coming in. Probably a good thing but the licence is not cheap (ours will be circ £450) and also lots on the to do list to apply for one (EPC certs, electrical safety certs, pat checks, water quality checks) most of which we did already but some places were not (was not actually a legal requirement). This will be passed on to guests.

Supply and demand – a lot more places are shutting because of heating costs in shoulder months – holiday accom on commercial rather than domestic contracts are not protected by energy price caps. Those places staying open are upping their prices partly to make it worth their while opening with increased costs and partly because they can as competition closes.

Staffing issues – getting cleaners is a ball ache now more than ever. The people we used in 2021 wanted to increase their price by 70% for 2022. Fortunately we had options but others will have be ‘blackmailed’ into it….and passed it on.

Laundering……has got soooooo expensive. Mind you – would you want to be running a high energy use sme at the moment! And that will be being passed on to customers.

Sadly the financial numbers for the next couple of years look pretty bleak.

Yep. Its a real pain as has stopped me taking a few short breaks as i just cant justify the expense.

Many years ago I used to pop up to the lakes with my mate, in summer, on a Saturday and go for a ride and then find a b&b near a pub for £25 pppn. Those days seem almost mythical now.

So – If airbnb is understood to be expensive (as a few have said) where should one be looking???

Supply and demand.

Aviemore was rammed this past couple of weeks – possibly as busy as I’ve ever seen it. Also in this past week, three planning applications to add 60 more holiday units in total. Nobody has any idea who is going to service them though as there is already a shortage.

If airbnb is understood to be expensive

All the booking sites take a similar cut, the fees are presented differently but they all work out about the same.

I think because it is so easy to use that it attracts some of the more ‘opportunist’ operators who jack up their prices.

@convert and @robola – agreed that every cost is going up, and that staffing and resourcing is under huge pressure – and clearly there is a shortage of accomodation.

eye wateringly expensive (and really, REALLY bad)

This seems to be the combination at the bottom of the market. The midrange, professionally run is good and getting better, it’s the lower end that is really poor… 🙁

The only thing I have to add to this is buy a good tent or a van to sleep in. Save the cash for a new bike

I posted about this last year.

My son is a freelance model maker and was using travel lodge type hotels staying Monday to Friday. Typically they were £160 to £180 for the four nights. February last year they jumped to that per night. It made freelancing unviable. He was earning £5-600 per week.

I was told I was being ridiculous expecting the costs to remain that low, but every business that is having employees staying away from home are not going to be able to sustain that type of cost increase indefinitely.

The only thing I have to add to this is buy a good tent or a van to sleep in. Save the cash for a new bike

You’ve seen the cost of a) vans and b) campsites too?

A lot of hosts have got used to the boom times during covid and some are asking unrealistic prices. Holiday cottage agencies advise customers on what are realistic prices and without that guidance people can get carried away on the likes of AirBnB and booking.com, what kind of occupancy rate they get is another matter.

I run an AirBnB in the Forest of Dean (3 bed, with secure bike storage #stealthadd) and I know of others nearby that have high rates but are empty a lot of the time. I suspect many just want to get to the magic 105 days booked per year so they don’t have to pay council tax and are happy to keep it empty the rest of the time

We notice a marked increase in campsite prices throughout the back end of last year for UK sites. Now around double their equivalent European sites were charging at the same time. Expecting further hikes in prices for this year.

I run an AirBnB in the Forest of Dean (3 bed, with secure bike storage #stealthadd)

That’s the single most irritating thing about most of the booking sites, no filter for bike storage.

I’m trying to find a place to stay for 3 nights within an hour or so of Torridon, with bike storage, on the 27th to 30th April. Can I ****!

I’ve got a week guided trip up there from the 30th, going to do a few days in Peebles beforehand but fancied a couple of extra days in the area to see some of Skye/have an easy ride. Also I really don’t fancy doing the 12hr drive from Kent to Torridon in a day…

#stealthwantedadvert…

If you want cheap the ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam can be booked midweek for around £65 each way for 2 people as foot passengers. Granted it’s not much use if you don’t want to go to Amsterdam but it’s way cheaper than a Premier Inn.

The last time I was away I stayed in a Travelodge in Whyteleafe on a which was pretty horrid. It was £135 for one night (Wednesday) which included a terrible breakfast. A year or so ago that would have been £65-75 and even then would have been too expensive.

If you want cheap the ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam can be booked midweek for around £65 each way for 2 people as foot passengers.

so if I’m working in Newcastle I’m best booking a return to Amsterdam and back every night and just sleep on the ferry 🙂

Holiday cottage agencies advise customers on what are realistic prices and without that guidance people can get carried away on the likes of AirBnB and booking.com, what kind of occupancy rate they get is another matter.

Indeed.

But even on the owner FB groups for the likes of Sykes there are some idiot owners. Sykes give you advice but you can override it. Owners posting things along the lines of ‘well with pricing going up and booking falling away I’ve got no choice but to request Sykes put my prices up by 50% with no basic understanding that if you the owner are feeling the pinch your punters are too!

This seems to be the combination at the bottom of the market. The midrange, professionally run is good and getting better, it’s the lower end that is really poor… 🙁

The worst bit was they only booked it as it was the only option with availability for ~30 people for 6 weeks. The brand new Marriott Courtyard which was near enough the same price up the road lost the job because they were a few rooms short on some dates!

I’m trying to find a place to stay for 3 nights within an hour or so of Torridon, with bike storage, on the 27th to 30th April. Can I ****!

@ta11pau1

http://www.stevecarter.com/minch/Minch.htm

We stayed there a year or so back. Lovely place, they had a shed we used, but two of the bikes we just locked to the fence. Totally hidden, and it’s Torridon, not Easter houses.

He lists more which are not on usual cottages site.
http://www.stevecarter.com/ansh/ansh7.htm

As a family we bill a lot of cottages. Full weeks since where touristy

Prices are definitely up. Although not crazy. In think we lucked in Autumn Half term. Lots of discounts in Devon. Well the crazy no chance pandemic price crossed out and then an ok price written in.

We paid £600 i for a 4 bed flat. Lovely sea view. Garage nearby. Can’t complain really

I have seen cottages on Airbnb that I’ve just seen on a tradition website but 25% more expensive

I wonder if the hotels thing is partly staff and brexit?

My chance his arm uncle, free from the inconvenience of needing to earn a living is off to a small a flat in Cornwall for all of January. Bills paid, £500, for the month

But that’s the exception

Torridon you say??

The descent to Annat passes the back garden of this one.

https://www.maryrankincottage.co.uk/

This all sounds like an opportunity to get the kids into wild camping next year.

I did quite a lot of working away during the pandemic and was getting the nice premiere inns and Travelodges for less than £30 a night during lockdown. Changed times.

Even Travel lodges are out of our reach as a family now. They only allow max 4 per room so with 3 kids you need 2 rooms. Doable in the old days say £120-200 for a stopover but now looking at £300-400 to stay with earshot of a major motorway junction.

There’s still some winter cheapness…. we’re in a Premier Inn this weekend for £52…. in a couple of weekends time it was £56… Both on Sat evenings.

They only allow max 4 per room so with 3 kids you need 2 rooms.

We did many a night with the 5th on floor with a camping mat. We just used to head out with one kid and come back in with two, while third was in room. Ahem.

All good until they’re teens.

http://www.stevecarter.com/minch/Minch.htm

We stayed there a year or so back. Lovely place, they had a shed we used, but two of the bikes we just locked to the fence. Totally hidden, and it’s Torridon, not Easter houses.

He lists more which are not on usual cottages site.
http://www.stevecarter.com/ansh/ansh7.htm

Torridon you say??

The descent to Annat passes the back garden of this one.

https://www.maryrankincottage.co.uk/

Cheers both, saw the second one already, it’s booked up. Will have a look at the first one.

I’ll add it’s only me so only need a small place, have emailed the Kinlochewe hotel as they had an article on DMBINS about their bike storage but there’s zero mention of it on the website…

Worse case I can spend a few more days in the Tweed Valley, or stick the bike in the car for a few days.

Lots of self-catering places only take bookings in week blocks because of the difficulty in arranging change-overs – some places here struggle to find housekeepers as everyone’s busy at the weekend, so they pay a premium and increase their charges.
Had someone on the local FB group moaning that they couldn’t find self-catering anywhere for 8 nights…

Booked a Premier Inn at Heathrow in April for £52 – was expecting to get reamed

We did many a night with the 5th on floor with a camping mat. We just used to head out with one kid and come back in with two, while third was in room. Ahem.

Like your style…have considered it but one kid cannot be left alone (freaks out), one has the sense & enthusiasm of a Labrador puppy and the other is very obviously disabled. It’d be like an unsolvable version of those the fox, the goose and the corn puzzles.

I suspect many just want to get to the magic 105 days booked per year so they don’t have to pay council tax and are happy to keep it empty the rest of the time

That’s wrong. They should be absolutely clobbered imo. Taking housing away from locals and not even paying in to the local community. System is ****.

Soz for the off tangent rant.

Lots of self-catering places only take bookings in week blocks because of the difficulty in arranging change-overs – some places here struggle to find housekeepers as everyone’s busy at the weekend, so they pay a premium and increase their charges.

Also, the changeover cost is the same whether the guest stays for a week or one night, so the net profit on short stays won’t be much, hence why some don’t offer it.

Also, the changeover cost is the same whether the guest stays for a week or one night, so the net profit on short stays won’t be much, hence why some don’t offer it.

Yes to both of these points. Also, if you take a short let it basically blocks you out for a week long let unless you are really lucky and someone else wants the spare bit.

For context to potential bookers here is our maths:-

3 bed, 3 bathroom that can take 6 people….

Changeover clean – £110 if we can’t do it ourselves (was going to be £180 if we had not found a local couple and stuck was a cleaning agency)
Laundry – £70 for a full house if we sub it out (I tend to do it – gotta love an evening of ironing after a days normal work. But I am a master of the air dried fluffy towel.)
Welcome pack – £12

Basically for us the holiday let is the equivalent of a part time job – probably a day and halfs work a week in season and then as much DIY as I can do myself out of season to keep the costs down in addition to 2 fully time jobs. Doing a midweek changeover we would have to farm out and (as above) once you take those costs into account, take away the agent commission and utilities and build in something for breakages and wear and tear, the number just don’t make sense.

I went up the West Coast of Scotland the year before Covid. Having been born in Stirling and a father from Arbroath , and lived in Edinburgh , I know the Easter Coast quite well.

Accommodation places even then were stupidly high – supply and demand, I guess. And some were truly awful (Cairhdown Stagecoach Inn being the best example). Air BnB in Skye started at 100 quid a night. The NW 500 accommodation had been booked for months in advanc.

In view of the amount of seafood that must be available – the food was also rubbish!
We came home.

But with utility prices going up , mortgages going up then overnight accommodation is going to be more expensive. And also in Europe

OK, we’re going to have a ground floor double room, ensuite,shared kitchen/dining facilities, secure bike storage, in our house in around a years time in the Dumfries area.30 mins from Dabeatties/Mabie/Ae. We dont intend to market it much, just word of mouth from friends/family etc to get people to stay. (Oh, and some stealth advertising on STW!).
What would be a realistic price per night?
I think it has got to be £75 a night, is that about right?
It isnt going to be a business, well, it will be for the OH, but not a necessary one, we wont need it to be full, and, TBH, I rather it was empty most of the time anyway.

Places we spoke to on the Isle of Wight last year said they couldn’t find staff post brexit, I wonder if the availability of cleaning and maintenance staff has dropped enough to affect business across the board?

It’s called inflation and supply/demand along with the cost of doing business.

The first Youth Hostel I stayed in, Mankinholes, cost 70p for the night 🙂