Bookings Shuddering Halt

[golfing girl]

We are in our 10 th year with one of our properties and over the last few years the 6 week holiday has been harder and harder to fill. Particularly the last week, which used to be very popular as it is Cartmel races week, but not popular now!!! Big struggle with September no enquiries for weeks and have had lots of enquiries for Summer short breaks this year...very different from 10 years ago.

[kg1]

Yah!! Just sold October half-term. Result!

[Essar]

There was a report that the price of fuel was having an affect on the destinations of UK holiday-makers, cash strapped families were avoiding long treks to the peripheral holiday places and sticking to those resorts and tourist centers nearer to the population densities.
This could account for the South-West, Wales, Cumbria & Scotland suffering, whereas the East & South Coast resorts are actually seeing increased activity.
Interesting what do you think?

[Windy]

Perhaps it depends on the price of the holiday?

If you are going on a fortnights camping then a tank of fuel is a significant part of your holiday cost. If you are booking a 5 star self catering cottage in the heart of Ambleside then it probably isn't that material. We are somewhere in between.

In terms of geography 80% of our bookings come from the North West, North East and southern Scotland, but I haven't noticed any real drop off in the numbers coming from elsewhere.

I think it's just the economy in general having a depressing effect.

[apexblue]

Just noticed our local school is back 31 August. No wonder bank holiday week is hard to sell.

[greenbarn]

Just noticed our local school is back 31 August. No wonder bank holiday week is hard to sell.

I've just been doing some random searches on www.halftermdates.co.uk and every council I tried in England has a term start 5th September or later. Some areas of Wales are earlier, and Scotland of course is much earlier.

[waterwitch]

[quote="Nuthatch"] this year we're getting lots of Dutch (July bookings are all Dutch) plus German, American and Aussie bookings

Same for me too Nuthatch, all Dutch families in July, also got a very nice 2 week booking from the German family early May. Usual splattering of Aussies as well.

In fact, looking from May to Oct over both properties, 13 weeks of the 40 sold are oversea's bookings, so around 30%.

I used to get lots of Americans but that died off when we went over to Holidayrentals, although obviously they are doing better for us on the Dutch/German side.

Also, looking at the Euro Zone, we are really benefiting from a weak pound and I know the German family did say they couldn't have afforded a similar holiday in France or Ireland. You only need to go into Liverpool shops to see they are packed out with Irish, Spanish and Dutch coming over to shop for bargains. You never used to see that - once it was the other way around!

[waterwitch]

Apex - our schools are back 5th September in Liverpool and most of the North West.

School's out from today - yippeeee.

[Windy]

@waterwitch @nuthatch

I'm always a little surprised at how few Eurozone customers we get, but maybe as I don't advertise for them specifically I shouldn't be.

Do you mind if i ask you where you advertise?

[apexblue]

Just back from the local supermarket and amazed at the number of NL plates. Maybe missing a trick and will have to go back to H-R.

[waterwitch]

Windy

All my Eurozone bookings came in off Holiday Rentals. I hate HomeAndAway and would love to dump them but think I have just proven that I do need them.

However, international bookings do come in very early in the year (mostly Jan/Feb) so could have been a different story if the calender wasn't filled so soon. Who knows!

[Windy]

Thanks for that

[Nuthatch]

We're not with any of the big rental listing sites. We signed up with Sawdays last summer and are getting some bookings through them. Most bookings seem to come via our local town website (£30 a year, but there's a lot of accommodation sites so I pay my £30 a few times a year to keep near the top). We also used to be with both I-know-yorkshire and Yorkshire Cottages, and still appear on both their websites (but no link to our own website) and I think people may be finding us there and googling us to find us. We're also with all the usual freebie sites, but nothing that would get us overseas bookings.

[marsh frog]

Just wondering how everyone is doing now?

We are very new to this - only 'opened for business' on 29th July but have been fully booked so far and are booked up to the 12th Sept, then we have a 4 night midweek gap to fill but have the following weekend booked. We have 2 weeks booked for next summer - one from Germany. One of our first guests was from Belgium, but we are in Sussex and the proximity to Dover and Ashford International does tend to bring in a lot of Dutch/Belgian/French/German tourists to the area

I have no previous years to compare it with, but have been comparing it to similar lets in the village and they all seem to be about the same. Only one has most of September booked [we have half booked] and a couple have no September bookings yet at all.

Is this a trend with everyone else here too?

[greenbarn]

We did eventually shift the last week of August (ie this week) in all our 3 properties, but that includes two short breaks that we booked since last weekend - last minute then!

Out of a possible 12 weeks for September, we've got 3 left spread over the 3 properties including one slot next week from Sun 4th (fingers crossed on that one ). After that it's a handful of bookings for October, then virtually nothing until Christmas, but I won't be surprised to fill some of those slots with short breaks.