Holiday lets in autumn half-term are 62% more expensive than they were before the pandemic, new research by Which? Travel has found.
The average price of bookings through Airbnb and rival platform Vrbo is £140 per night this year compared to £87 in 2019.
Which? Travel used data from short-term rental analyst AirDNA to compare the cost of October half-term accommodation in 2019 and 2022, and found that prices have risen everywhere in the UK - and more than doubled in some areas.
This year the most expensive place to book a half-term stay is Suffolk, with holidaymakers shelling out £215 a night on average - £47 more than in October 2019.
Accommodation in much of Wales, the Lake District, Devon and on the Scarborough Coast was also considerably pricier than elsewhere. Nightly rates in Devon and West Wales have increased a whopping 73%: the average holidaymaker paid more than £170 for a half-term break in 2022, compared to just over £100 per night in 2019.
See our table of the best and worst holiday cottage providers
October half-term rates compared
| Most expensive places in the UK | 2019 average price per night | 2022 average price per night | Percentage increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk | £168 | £215 | 28% |
| Scarborough Coast | £125 | £189 | 51% |
| Devon | £104 | £179 | 73% |
| Gwynedd (including Snowdonia) | £123 | £175 | 42% |
| Mid Wales | £115 | £175 | 52% |
| West Wales (Pembrokeshire and Camarthenshire) | £101 | £175 | 73% |
| Lake District | £101 | £171 | 69% |
| Norfolk | £99 | £168 | 70% |
| Cornwall | £107 | £165 | 55% |
Airbnb says: “This data is inaccurate and overstates price changes on Airbnb. While travel habits have changed and demand for local, domestic stays has increased, there is something for everyone and every budget on Airbnb. Nearly half of guests say booking on Airbnb saved them money and a quarter said they specifically chose Airbnb over other types of accommodation to save money.”
Vrbo didn't respond to a request for comment.
Where’s cheapest for a last-minute half-term break?
If you’re planning a half-term trip but haven’t booked yet, a city break could keep accommodation costs down.
Even though prices have risen across the board, Airbnbs and Vrbos in and around Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Glasgow remain under £110 per night on average. Cheapest of all is Birmingham, where the average cost is £88 - the only place in the UK under £100 a night.
Holidaymakers in search of a last-minute rural retreat could also look at Surrey and Buckinghamshire, which were also among the 10 cheapest places for an Airbnb or Vrbo break (see the table below). Holiday lets in Northern Ireland, including Belfast, are also good value.
Cheapest UK holiday lets in 2022
| Cheapest places in the UK | 2019 average price per night | 2022 average price per night | Percentage increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | £58 | £88 | 51% |
| Hertfordshire/Buckinghamshire | £60 | £100 | 67% |
| Leeds/Sheffield | £61 | £102 | 66% |
| Surrey | £69 | £104 | 50% |
| Manchester | £64 | £104 | 62% |
| Belfast | £65 | £105 | 62% |
| Glasgow | £62 | £106 | 70% |
| Northern Ireland | £73 | £106 | 45% |
| Reading/Windsor | £77 | £112 | 46% |
Where’s popular for a UK half-term break?
Cornwall, Devon, the Lake District and the Highlands have long been popular with both UK and foreign visitors and remain the hotspots. Holidaymakers have booked over 32,000 nights in Cornwall this half-term - nearly 12,000 more than in 2019’s autumn half-term.
The biggest increase in demand, compared to 2019, is around Hull and the East Yorkshire coast, the Scarborough coast, and the Isle of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales.
City breaks fell out of favour during the pandemic, and demand (measured in the number of booked nights) remains lower than it was in 2019 in many: Glasgow, Cambridge, Manchester, Belfast, Bristol, Bath and Edinburgh. The number of booked nights in London remains 38% below 2019 levels, but the capital is regaining in popularity - demand this half-term is almost double last year’s.
Our research
Analyst AirDNA gave us the average daily rate (ADR) of Airbnb and Vrbo rentals in the UK in 2019, 2021 and 2022, broken down by area. The average daily rate was calculated from all bookings made for autumn half-term by 11 October in the corresponding year. We only included small/mid-sized holiday lets (up to three bedrooms).
AirDNA’s database is in US dollars, so we converted it into sterling using the GBP/USD historical exchange rate for each year as of 11 October. AirDNA also provided figures on the number of nights booked in each place, so we could compare the level of demand in each year. The daily rates do not include cleaning or service fees.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/cheap-airbnb-vrbo-october-half-term-awH2k0R8woIm