Jet2 Dynamic Pricing (All-inclusive package)

PralineParis

Hi all,

I have never booked with Jet2 before this so I would value any insight you can share. My partner and I have booked a trip to Tenerife in April, through his email (but I can access the portal to pay etc). This will be with a large group of friends and their child >10 people all paying as separate families/couples for the same hotel.

We paid the deposit in August last year and had until February to pay for flights and accommodation with the Self-Catered option. We paid it all off a few days after Christmas but we were still considering whether to upgrade to the All-Inclusive package. Around the time we booked that upgrade was around £200pp and has been relatively stable but as of a couple of weeks ago, it sky-rocketed up to £408! (Was it something the Prime Minister said or am I unaware of a food & bev shortage in Tenerife?)

Some of the couples who decided early on All-in got it at £200ish pp and we wouldn't be comfortable paying double for the same package now. The big draw for us was the flow of alcohol rather than the food.

I'm not suggesting we had any consumer rights violated here and it's a case of "the early bird catches the worm". That said, do you think there is a chance of it dropping back to a decent price (We would buy it if it dropped back to £250 but that's unlikely. Only dropped by £3) or could we pay for a package directly at the hotel without violating our agreement with Jet2? Is this dynamic pricing for the food package par with the course from Jet2 and could it drop back down much like a last-minute flight?

eskbanker

PralineParis said:

could we pay for a package directly at the hotel without violating our agreement with Jet2?

Can't offer any guidance on the likelihood of Jet2's price changing but there's nothing stopping you from choosing to upgrade to AI at the hotel - you should be able to get a handle on the hotel's price for doing so by comparing costs with a dummy direct booking?

PralineParis

Thanks for the tip. The hotel website doesn't seem to let you book the package separately so I can't do a dummy booking. Maybe it's worth calling the hotel ahead to ask or asking when we get there.

lady1964

Personally, I’d email the hotel to ask what their AI cost would be if you upgraded. At least then you’d know ahead of time if a) you can do that and b) what the cost would be.

Grumpy_chap

PralineParis said:

Hi all,

I have never booked with Jet2 before this so I would value any insight you can share. My partner and I have booked a trip to Tenerife in April, through his email (but I can access the portal to pay etc). This will be with a large group of friends and their child >10 people all paying as separate families/couples for the same hotel.

We paid the deposit in August last year and had until February to pay for flights and accommodation with the Self-Catered option. We paid it all off a few days after Christmas but we were still considering whether to upgrade to the All-Inclusive package. Around the time we booked that upgrade was around £200pp and has been relatively stable but as of a couple of weeks ago, it sky-rocketed up to £408! (Was it something the Prime Minister said or am I unaware of a food & bev shortage in Tenerife?)

Some of the couples who decided early on All-in got it at £200ish pp and we wouldn't be comfortable paying double for the same package now. The big draw for us was the flow of alcohol rather than the food.

I'm not suggesting we had any consumer rights violated here and it's a case of "the early bird catches the worm". That said, do you think there is a chance of it dropping back to a decent price (We would buy it if it dropped back to £250 but that's unlikely. Only dropped by £3) or could we pay for a package directly at the hotel without violating our agreement with Jet2? Is this dynamic pricing for the food package par with the course from Jet2 and could it drop back down much like a last-minute flight?

I very much doubt that this is linked to anything the PM said, nor that there is a food shortage.

All costs for all things travel and holiday related seem to have dynamic pricing.

Ignore the choice you did not take in the past - that choice is fixed and cannot be undone.
Your choice is to weigh up the £400 each now and whether you will eat and drink your way through that value.  If so, the option may still be a good one.
Or take a risk that you will pay less than the £400 each if you do not take the AI option.
Or the third risk that you can get an upgrade at the hotel at check-in.  In my experience, that type of upsell is common.  It may be more or less expensive than the £400 or may be not offered.

On a practical basis, I always steer away from AI as I can find hotel buffet food and the bar areas equally uninspiring and prefer to visit the wider area (even if it is not authentic Spanish culture, there is still more choice of tourist fakery).  Will there now be a risk of incompatibility if you wish to venture from the hotel (after all you have to pay regardless and outside is probably cheaper) but others in the group prefer to stay in the hotel bar (after all, it's free)?  There may be greater harmony if you are all on the same level of food package.

TELLIT01

Flight prices have shot up over the past few months.  I checked prices for 2 of us to Crete back last September to travel this coming September.  Price was around £900.  For a variety of reasons I couldn't confirm our travel plans until about 2 weeks ago.  Those flights are now £1400 with all the same addons!  As availability of the place we are staying is very limited and we booked that in September 2023 we are stuck with it as no other flights are available from any of our 'local' airports on the required dates.  'Local' is comparative as both are over an hour away.

Grumpy_chap

TELLIT01 said:

Flight prices have shot up over the past few months.

The OP's query seems to be unrelated to flight costs.

DullGreyGuy

TELLIT01 said:
'Local' is comparative as both are over an hour away.

Would have said for an airport, circa 1 hour is local. Go to some places in the US/Canada and the "local restaurant" is 2 hours away or more. 

PralineParis said:

Some of the couples who decided early on All-in got it at £200ish pp and we wouldn't be comfortable paying double for the same package now. The big draw for us was the flow of alcohol rather than the food.

I'm not suggesting we had any consumer rights violated here and it's a case of "the early bird catches the worm". That said, do you think there is a chance of it dropping back to a decent price (We would buy it if it dropped back to £250 but that's unlikely. Only dropped by £3) or could we pay for a package directly at the hotel without violating our agreement with Jet2? Is this dynamic pricing for the food package par with the course from Jet2 and could it drop back down much like a last-minute flight?

Its highly unlikely to drop in price as they arent going to have an excess of alcohol thats going to go unsold if they dont sell enough AI upgrades, unlike say a cruise ship where it will cost for the boat to go with empty/unsold cabins. 

You can check with the hotel if you could upgrade whilst there, not all hotels offer AI outside of tour operators though. Have you checked the prices of drinks there? With some of your guests on AI they arent going to be wanting to go out drinking elsewhere so you may be rather stuck there. Whilst paying 2x the price of a friend is never nice at the end of the day if you're going to be paying say £600 in food/drinks on PAYG you may as well just suck it up and pay to cap the bill

martindow

How about your friends ordering enthusiastically and sharing some things around?  As long as you order occasionally, it won't be easy for the hotel to see who is drinking what. 

Edit:  Clearly not a good idea as Grumpy-chap has pointed out.  I've also posted below at 12.37.

Grumpy_chap

martindow said:

How about your friends ordering enthusiastically and sharing some things around?  As long as you order occasionally, it won't be easy for the hotel to see who is drinking what. 

Well, that really amounts to theft and cannot be condoned.

Grumpy_chap

Just adding to the "get the friends who are AI to cover your stuff in the bar" - as well as the legalities of it, it may well damage the friendships.  The friends have paid £200 each to go AI.  The OP will not have paid to go AI.  It would be the equivalent of one friend in a group always joining in rounds at the pub but never paying for a round.

Ideally, all in the group would have agreed to go AI or not before any of them booked.  I now think the best thing for the OP to do will be to suffer the £400 cost and normalise their experience to match the friends.  That will lead to the most harmonious holiday for the group.

What was the OP's reason for not buying the AI package at the outset?
Did the OP hope the cost would reduce?