The consumer champion’s snapshot investigation looked at prices for 15 properties listed between Airbnb and Vrbo in the past year, in destinations such as St Ives, Whitby, Llandudno and Brighton
Holidaymakers face paying more for a UK seaside break this summer as a snapshot investigation suggests some accommodation prices have risen by an average of 35 per cent compared with last summer, according to new research from Which?.
With demand for UK holidays expected to soar this summer, Which? tracked the prices of 15 holiday lets in the top ten most visited UK seaside destinations, and found that in every case, prices have increased from last summer.
The consumer champion’s snapshot investigation looked at prices for 15 properties listed between Airbnb and Vrbo in the past year, in destinations such as St Ives, Whitby, Llandudno and Brighton.
Which? first looked at the prices of these listings in May and June last year, for various dates in July and August 2020.
The research then looked at the prices of the same properties in February 2021 for similar dates in July and August 2021, and found all had increased in price, with an average increase of 35 per cent.
The largest markup of the properties Which? looked at was for a one-bedroom maisonette in Brighton on Airbnb.
When the consumer champion checked the price of the listing in May 2020 for the first week of August 2020, the cost was £53 per night.
But when it checked again in February 2021 for the same period the property was £127 per night – an increase of 140 per cent.
It also found a 70 per cent increase in price for a one-bedroom property in the centre of Eastbourne on Airbnb.
Last year, for a one-week holiday in the first week of August, it would have cost £409.
This year, the same week costs £696.
