Brits choose a staycation this bank holiday

Brits are choosing to stay on home turf this August bank holiday with 76% of UK travellers opting for a staycation rather than a trip abroad.

Hotel search website Trivago found that three out of four hotel searches were for UK destinations this bank holiday with 34 of the 50 most searched-for destinations located in the UK – 12 of which were on the coast.

Cashing in on British travellers

Blackpool, Bournemouth and Brighton made it into the top 20 most popular destinations with hotel availability standing at 24% but a number of other coastal destinations are not as lucky.

Skegness has no availability at all while Whitby and Weymouth has just 1% and Newquay 4%.

While Whitby will cost the same this weekend as at other times of the year (£101 per night on average), Weymouth and Skegness are planning to cash in on by raising prices by 9%.

Not everyone has followed this trend though and one hotel in Newquay is actually charging 15% less than the monthly average this August bank holiday – putting the nightly rate at £106 rather than £124.

The majority of price increases are in city destinations with Liverpool noting the largest price growth of 47% from an average £86 per night to a whopping £126 per night during the long weekend.

Berkshire’s Reading has also increased prices by 38% in order to cash in on their annual music festival while prices in Brighton and Manchester are up 33% and 32% respectively.

Barcelona is the only non-UK destination to note large price increases with average costs up by 38% to £149 per night over the bank holiday weekend compared to £108 per night during the rest of August.

Denise Bartlett, UK Press Officer at Trivago, said that this is the second time this year that we have witnessed a strong trend towards staycations.

If you’re thinking of heading abroad instead of remaining in the UK this bank holiday, don’t forget to book your budget travel insurance in advance

Date Created: 25/08/2015