2017 Prices after pound crash

Up, down, could be better? How to get more bookings is our number one obsession. Talk shop here.
MisterC
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:03 pm
Location: Charente
Contact:

2017 Prices after pound crash

Post by MisterC »

Pound at a record low against the euro and possibly even parity by 2017. We take most bookings in sterling in our UK bank account and then have to eventually transfer funds in euros. So I'm considering price increases as will be losing quite a bit of money. Trouble is I'm worried this may be self-defeating in terms of booking numbers. This must be a quandary all UK Eurozone owners are facing. Opinion?

www.ruralbliss.iowners.net
Sunbeam
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:24 pm
Location: Spain

Post by Sunbeam »

We have exactly the same dilemma.

We considered switching to advertising in Euros, and increasing our rates, to 'fix' our income.

But have decided we're not going change anything for the moment.

90% of our guests come from the UK and pay directly into our UK bank account - and making payment clear, simple and easy is a top priority.

Those that pay in Euros pay into our Euro account in Spain at whatever the rate is at the time of booking.

We don't want to risk increasing prices in case it means a more empty weeks due to fewer UK guests. Maybe an upside is possibly more Eurozone guests getting a better deal.

We have most of next summer booked - and all those sterling balances will be paid when the rate is probably even worse :-(

We have only been doing this for 2 years and guess that those doing this for longer have more experience of fluctuations like this.

Very interested in what others are doing/considering.
User avatar
Rogthedodge
Posts: 188
Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:07 pm
Location: Praia da Luz, Algarve
Contact:

Post by Rogthedodge »

MC, I looked at this thinking that you would be reducing your rates, to help with more UK bookings, seems I was wrong. Please do not shoot yourself in the foot.
Deary me am I real.

www.holiday-rentals.com/52179
Hells Bells
Posts: 13173
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
Location: French Alps
Contact:

Post by Hells Bells »

I charge in euros regardless of the nationality. I've only had one guest in 10 years object, he didn't complain, but sent me a cheque (which I don't accept) in sterling at an exchange rate he thought acceptable. It wasn't. I returned the cheque and offered to cancel the booking. He sent me the euro payment the following day.
User avatar
Casscat
Posts: 2692
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 10:43 pm

Post by Casscat »

If you are able to accept payment in sterling and euros I would advertise in euros but offer the option to pay in sterling at the official exchange rate prevailing at the time. Most third party sites have a currency converter and you can build one into your own site too. If you live and work in the eurozone you need your cashflow to reflect that.
Tivoli
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 2:31 pm
Location: Glossa, Skopelos, Greece
Contact:

Post by Tivoli »

We have always priced in Euros paid directly into our Greek bank account. The weak pound has been an issue since the referendum. The long and short of it is that foreign holidays are now more expensive for British people. There's no two ways of looking at it.
User avatar
Vera
Posts: 439
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 4:45 am
Location: Vera,Almeria, Spain
Contact:

Post by Vera »

Casscat wrote:If you are able to accept payment in sterling and euros I would advertise in euros but offer the option to pay in sterling at the official exchange rate prevailing at the time. Most third party sites have a currency converter and you can build one into your own site too. If you live and work in the eurozone you need your cashflow to reflect that.
+1
ianh100
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:37 pm
Location: Sherborne Dorset

Post by ianh100 »

I guess this actually goes both ways, I am hoping that we get more euro country guests wanting to come to the UK. In fact we got our first French guests booking over the weekend for a stay in two weeks time. Perhaps the currency makes us look more attractive? I hope so as I am sure many of our costs related to imported resources are going to start going up very soon.
User avatar
cleanforum
Posts: 392
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:55 am

Post by cleanforum »

We have put our prices up. New reality. New prices. Unfortunately we will probably be seeing fewer British guests here in Spain. Thats sad. Have to face that. The new reality means looking for new horizons for us, within the Euro zone. Not our first option but there are certainly a lot of folks out there in Euroland, so with some changes in marketing I am hoping be able to deal with the short fall.
User avatar
Lets Go To Puglia
Posts: 163
Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2016 2:55 pm
Location: Puglia, Italy
Contact:

Post by Lets Go To Puglia »

Sunbeam wrote:We have exactly the same dilemma.

We considered switching to advertising in Euros, and increasing our rates, to 'fix' our income.

But have decided we're not going change anything for the moment.

90% of our guests come from the UK and pay directly into our UK bank account - and making payment clear, simple and easy is a top priority.

Those that pay in Euros pay into our Euro account in Spain at whatever the rate is at the time of booking.

We don't want to risk increasing prices in case it means a more empty weeks due to fewer UK guests. Maybe an upside is possibly more Eurozone guests getting a better deal.

We have most of next summer booked - and all those sterling balances will be paid when the rate is probably even worse :-(

We have only been doing this for 2 years and guess that those doing this for longer have more experience of fluctuations like this.

Very interested in what others are doing/considering.
We are in the same boat. And the same thing happened in the 2008 crash. We survived through that without putting up our prices and I suppose we will do the same again in 2017.

For the years affected by 2008 we found we were getting a lot more euro bookings as the exchange rate favoured people who paid in euros.

Back then we considered changing our prices to euros but for reasons very similar to yours we didn't. We won't for 2017. After that who knows, we are waiting to see what Brexit brings!
Ciao, Debbie

Puglia Holiday Villas Facebook Page
---------------------
It's not the things you did you look back on and regret it's the things you didn't do!
Hells Bells
Posts: 13173
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
Location: French Alps
Contact:

Post by Hells Bells »

More marketing to non-Brits has to be the way forward. I did it during the previous crash, and the subsequent recesssion. UK bookings were just picking back up to their previous levels last winter, but have plummeted again. I've only got bookings from UK now, that existed before the referendum. Any I have received since then have been from EU and beyond.
Hells Bells
Posts: 13173
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
Location: French Alps
Contact:

Post by Hells Bells »

I've also seen a couple of ads on Facebook fixing the price in sterling, but I think I would only do that if they paid 100% up front. I did this for a repeat booker in 2008. I gave them a sterling price on the day they booked at the current rate, and they paid. If it fluctuated we were both protected.
Sunbeam
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:24 pm
Location: Spain

Post by Sunbeam »

Lets Go To Puglia wrote:
Sunbeam wrote:We have exactly the same dilemma.

We considered switching to advertising in Euros, and increasing our rates, to 'fix' our income.

But have decided we're not going change anything for the moment.

90% of our guests come from the UK and pay directly into our UK bank account - and making payment clear, simple and easy is a top priority.

Those that pay in Euros pay into our Euro account in Spain at whatever the rate is at the time of booking.

We don't want to risk increasing prices in case it means a more empty weeks due to fewer UK guests. Maybe an upside is possibly more Eurozone guests getting a better deal.

We have most of next summer booked - and all those sterling balances will be paid when the rate is probably even worse :-(

We have only been doing this for 2 years and guess that those doing this for longer have more experience of fluctuations like this.

Very interested in what others are doing/considering.
We are in the same boat. And the same thing happened in the 2008 crash. We survived through that without putting up our prices and I suppose we will do the same again in 2017.

For the years affected by 2008 we found we were getting a lot more euro bookings as the exchange rate favoured people who paid in euros.

Back then we considered changing our prices to euros but for reasons very similar to yours we didn't. We won't for 2017. After that who knows, we are waiting to see what Brexit brings!
Thank you for the insight - we're hoping more weeks filled with Eurozone and North America guests will help make up a shortfall. Also trying to attract Spanish guests - there seems to be a market for short breaks over autumn/winter.
gardenboy
Posts: 283
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 2:14 pm

Post by gardenboy »

The pound is currently 1.11 and it went down to 1.06 I seem to recall in 2008. I have always priced in gbp and over time when the euro rate is weak, I found British people stayed away anyway as restaurants, bars etc seemed expensive.

Last time I had lots of French guests
MisterC
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:03 pm
Location: Charente
Contact:

Post by MisterC »

Thanks all for your input. Our two main referrers are Booking.com and OD. Booking.com already in euros and paid into our French bank account and considering the increased number of European customers we've had this year (thank God) from OD and its European partners I intend to change to Euros with them as well. it will still be displayed in GBP on the British sites but at least I'll know that my income form them isn't going to lose value. Now the big question! should I go over to Euros on my website? (I intend to use Transferwise after having taken Uk online bank payments before) Would the Euros put off bookers? As the majority of our customers come through a third party maybe not?
Post Reply