Single parent discrimination

Marker_2

I have been searching for holidays for myself and two children.

I stumbled on lowcostholidays and saw a that They cater for single parents with the tagline 'dont feel singled out', and they go on to say just pay for you and the kids, and no double occupancy Fees.

So great i do a search and found the price too expensive, did the same search for two adults one child, 2 adults 2 kids and a variety of other choices. And the price was exactly the same pp for 2 adults and 1 child. £10 more expensive each for 2 adults and 2 kids.

Whats going on?

zagfles

Why would you expect the price to be less pp, if you use the same amount of accomodation and the same number of seats on the plane?

It's like marketing bulls**t like "free child places" where they charge underoccupancy fees instead!

Obviously_the_best

So you have three seats on a plane and three beds in a hotel, whether you have 2 adults 1 child or 1 adult 2 children. And it's unfair they're the same price?

Marker_2

The flights arent the problem. Its the hotel, exactly the same price for 2 adults and 1 child as it is for 1 adult 2 kids. Clearly children are not consuming alcohol and won't eat as much as an adult.

Bit pointless having the options of adult or child (and asking childs age) if it all works out the same anyway.

But my point is this particular site mis led a bit.

MasterPoo

OP lowcostholidays are not ABTA/ATOL registered, so be mindful of this if you go with them, my lovely neighbours found this out the hard way!

maman

I'm not familiar with package holidays but most hotels work on a price per room these days. So it wouldn't make a great deal of difference who you were sharing with (children/partner) to the cost. It would usually cost the same for single occupancy. Breakfasts are often charged separately so that's where a small difference might lie.


Airline flight costs would depend a little on how old your children are and whether they had seats. So you might make a bit of a saving if you put your own package together.

SW17

Sounds like you are referring to one particular holiday that you are interested in. Did you find the same pricing issue across the board with different holidays?

They ask for adult/child and child age because the amount of child discount and the ages for which it applies can vary quite a lot from property to property. The system has to try and handle all the searches made and give all possible results, so requests these criteria.

missbiggles1

Marker wrote: »

The flights arent the problem. Its the hotel, exactly the same price for 2 adults and 1 child as it is for 1 adult 2 kids. Clearly children are not consuming alcohol and won't eat as much as an adult.

Bit pointless having the options of adult or child (and asking childs age) if it all works out the same anyway.

But my point is this particular site mis led a bit.

You didn't mention the fact that it was all inclusive! However,if it includes soft drinks, children tend to get through them at a rate of knots!

Marker_2

SW17 wrote: »

Sounds like you are referring to one particular holiday that you are interested in. Did you find the same pricing issue across the board with different holidays?

They ask for adult/child and child age because the amount of child discount and the ages for which it applies can vary quite a lot from property to property. The system has to try and handle all the searches made and give all possible results, so requests these criteria.

I searched a variety of sites for the same sort of holidays. Thomson and Thomas Cook prices (wow).

zagfles

Marker wrote: »

The flights arent the problem. Its the hotel, exactly the same price for 2 adults and 1 child as it is for 1 adult 2 kids. Clearly children are not consuming alcohol and won't eat as much as an adult.

Bit pointless having the options of adult or child (and asking childs age) if it all works out the same anyway.

But my point is this particular site mis led a bit.

If it's AI you have a point. Although in some countries booze is as cheap or cheaper than soft drinks, and kids might have more ice cream etc...

A few times we've had set course meals which include wine but NOT soft drinks, so have ended up paying more for the kids than the adults! Although the kids' wine wasn't wasted

I was looking at a package a few years ago and booking as 4 adults was considerably cheaper than 2 adults and 2 children for some reason! Pricing models are sometimes strange, the moral is don't fall for the marketing gimmicks.

SW17

Marker wrote: »

I searched a variety of sites for the same sort of holidays. Thomson and Thomas Cook prices (wow).

Thomson and Thomas Cook take enormous amounts of risk on flight seats and bed commitments. Low Cost Holidays and others, a lot less risk. That means you will sometimes see great deals from the big 2 when they need to shift capacity. If you found a great deal with them, go for it.

I'm by no means a big fan of lowcostholidays, but this issue of family pricing is rather fraught, so I'd be hesitant to say they are deliberately misleading. You, of course, are perfectly entitled to do so if you feel that strongly about it.