Holiday booking not increased yet after Brexit/pound dollar crash?

Photogaz

Ove the past couple of months I've been periodically checking holiday prices and a trip to the US has not yet increased from a flights and hotel point of view yet.

The pound to dollar has dropped from 1.45 to 1.29 but there's been no change in my holiday prices.

Are we likely to see that happen soon and should I get in now if I can afford it? What do you think the reasons may be?

Westin

Those traditional package holidays will have been largely priced up by tour operators who have pre-bought or hedged currency at a better, pre Referendum fx rate.

To a curtain degree airlines will be the same (aviation fuel is bought in USD) with hedging deals softening any immediate impact of a weaker GBP£.

The first changes in pricing will likely already be felt by those travellers who have made their own travel plans and booked stays overseas and plan to pay for their accommodation stay in local currency. Those hotels will be more expensive when they eventually settle their bills if the GBP£ remains weak.

Following this the smaller operators or those who use bed beds ( a lot of the online travel agents like LoveHolidays, On the Beach, EasyJet Holidays etc ) to secure accommodation will see pricing change as pricing is more dynamic and will not necessarily benefit from any forward bought currency.

The larger Operators will likely need to adjust 2017 pricing as forward hedged currency deals expire and a weaker Euro or Dollar rate is then used. For now however a 'package' is likely to offer a better deal as those Operators still have the ability to cost holidays at the old, better exchange rates.

Of course demand is another issue which will impact pricing which is why accommodation costs in Spain and Portugal are very high this summer, yet deals to Turkey are in much bett supply.

Murphy_The_Cat

Westin wrote: »

The first changes in pricing will likely already be felt by those travellers who have made their own travel plans and booked stays overseas and plan to pay for their accommodation stay in local currency. Those hotels will be more expensive when they eventually settle their bills if the GBP£ remains weak.

That'll be me then !
I prebooked all of my accomodation back in Septemeber for July's holoday in Canada and America. All of it was non-cancellable/non refundable. The T&C's said that the money would be taken at some stage between the time of booking and the arrival that the hotel and all but one haven't taken the payment yet

C'est la vie and all that.

sillygoose

I was just coming on here to talk about the same as the op!

I was just playing with the Thomas Cook site at some packages I have had before for 2017 and was really surprised to see prices coming out the same!

Problem is I missed out on availability at our favourite place last summer (just left it a bit too late) so we are trying a new place this year that may turn out to be better so I don't want to book until after we have tried it in August, who know what may happen meanwhile..

Its so tempting to book the original place and lock in the price now..argh!!

Also I loaded a currency card before the referendum with quite a lot (phew!) but will need some more Euro's and have been holding on, its been suggested the Bank of England may lower interest rates next week, if so maybe there will be at least a blip up in the rates?

Westin

its been suggested the Bank of England may lower interest rates next week, if so maybe there will be at least a blip up in the rates?

If that happens won't it make things worse with an even weaker £ as demand for our currency slips further?

I would have thought (but please correct me if I am thinking this incorrectly) it would be better for interest rates to rise if the Bank of England wants to stabilise the GBP£. That way we would see outside and overseas investors buying the GBP£ and moving money into UK savings, bonds and gilts.

sillygoose

Westin wrote: »

If that happens won't it make things worse with an even weaker £ as demand for our currency slips further?

I would have thought (but please correct me if I am thinking this incorrectly) it would be better for interest rates to rise if the Bank of England wants to stabilise the GBP£. That way we would see outside and overseas investors buying the GBP£ and moving money into UK savings, bonds and gilts.

You may well be right!

I thought the idea was something like to make it cheaper to invest in UK business causing an inflow of money and demand for currency hence causing its value to rise.

Who knows???? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: