Package holiday prices

neilied

Morning all. This was prompted by me reading the TUi Group annual figures as reported this week. They report sales growth, profit growth. Then I read a report about holiday price inflation YoY. 

I am trying to wrap my head around the rocketing prices of package holidays that TUi are offering. A family of 4 and in store best they could offer for Greece was a 2*+ studio self catering in kavos in July for £3800.

I logged into my TUi Accounts and saw our previous trips to Corfu dating back to 2016. As reference I took our last trip and created a quote with the same criteria. Same hotel, same dates, same room and package. Identical. What greeted me was shocking. 2022 - £1976 vs 2025 - £5708

how can this be acceptable. Even more so same hols for a longer duration in 2016 when we first visited was £1100. 

TELLIT01

There is nothing illegal about increasing prices.  I accept that it's extremely annoying, and that prices have shot up in the past couple of years.  We paid about £800 for 2 flights last year.  Flights for the same dates this year aren't far short of double that.  We all have 2 options.  We either pay the price or we don't go.

sheramber

A lot has happened in the last  8 years causing prices to increase.

There has been a pandemic. an ongoing war contributing to  a cost of living increase.

Hotels are quite entitled to reside their prices.

Similarly , air fares and wages have increased in the last 8 years. 

Do you earn the same as you did 8 years ago?

Are your bills the same as they were ?8 years ago?

NoodleDoodleMan

The TUI group took a massive financial hit during the Covid crisis which also affected the whole of the associated linked tourist industry, including the hotels and transfer coach firms etc.

To some extent the inevitable price rises are a direct result.

It's also worth noting that prices in high season, such as July, are "in the black" months for package holiday makers to compensate for low season which are generally a loss or break even period.

QrizB

neilied said:

how can this be acceptable.

Simply because holidays are a discretionary spend. If the prices are too high, you go elsewhere or stay at home.

It's not like food or energy.

DullGreyGuy

neilied said:

Morning all. This was prompted by me reading the TUi Group annual figures as reported this week. They report sales growth, profit growth. Then I read a report about holiday price inflation YoY. 

I am trying to wrap my head around the rocketing prices of package holidays that TUi are offering. A family of 4 and in store best they could offer for Greece was a 2*+ studio self catering in kavos in July for £3800.

I logged into my TUi Accounts and saw our previous trips to Corfu dating back to 2016. As reference I took our last trip and created a quote with the same criteria. Same hotel, same dates, same room and package. Identical. What greeted me was shocking. 2022 - £1976 vs 2025 - £5708

how can this be acceptable. Even more so same hols for a longer duration in 2016 when we first visited was £1100. 

Shop around, Booking.com has a package at the same hotel on the same dates for £2,700

You've picked a date that is expensive to fly on too, assuming there are 2 of you travelling then going on the Tuesday rather than the Friday then the cost is £1,963 and so is actually cheaper than your 2022 stay in absolute terms an notably cheaper on a present value basis.

eskbanker

neilied said:

how can this be acceptable

Free market economics - if nobody's prepared to pay increased prices then the holidays won't sell, so they're simply charging what they believe the market can afford.  It's not a regulated industry with price controls....

neilied

Is £5k reasonable these days for a week in Europe? Does everyone just accept that things increase this much and the people at the top just throw the riches back in our faces showing the profits they make. Even worse now is my daughter’s school highly recommending no hols taken during the early school hols as they are setting revision for the school breaks. As for do I earn the same as 8 years ago. No but my increase has been a 35% increase on salary from then. Mortgage/rent has been almost a 100% increase (from renting to owning) and disposable income is lower than 8 years ago. 

TheSpectator

neilied said:

Is £5k reasonable these days for a week in Europe? Does everyone just accept that things increase this much and the people at the top just throw the riches back in our faces showing the profits they make. Even worse now is my daughter’s school highly recommending no hols taken during the early school hols as they are setting revision for the school breaks. As for do I earn the same as 8 years ago. No but my increase has been a 35% increase on salary from then. Mortgage/rent has been almost a 100% increase (from renting to owning) and disposable income is lower than 8 years ago. 

If it wasn't 'reasonable' then put simply they won't sell but clearly people have the means to pay it.

There are still relative bargains to be had but the Greek islands in particular seem to hvae rocketed in price.

eskbanker

neilied said:

Does everyone just accept that things increase this much and the people at the top just throw the riches back in our faces showing the profits they make.

Like any other commercial business, their raison d'etre is to make profits?  If you don't want to book holidays with a profitable company, there'll still be loss-makers around if you want to accept the resultant risks....

neilied

eskbanker said:

neilied said:

Does everyone just accept that things increase this much and the people at the top just throw the riches back in our faces showing the profits they make.

Like any other commercial business, their raison d'etre is to make profits?  If you don't want to book holidays with a profitable company, there'll still be loss-makers around if you want to accept the resultant risks....

But how much is a decent profit. Hotels locally set up an association agreeing a room rate increase for when an event was in town. All agreeing a far inflated price but all the same across the big six hotels so there was no undercutting or competition. The local authorities came down heavily on them directly or by indirect means and the press trashed them. The town lost several annual events. I also come from a hospitality business background and ethically I guess we always charged enough but never wanted to test the boundaries.