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Kirstie Allsopp plans rant on holiday prices

Friday, August 6th 2010 - comments (1) Comment

Kirstie Allsopp plans rant on holiday prices

Brace yourselves: Kirstie Allsopp has started filming a new documentary for Channel 4 in the UK. "Holidays Uncovered" is due to air in January - peak time for people booking holidays. The show will include trusty sidekick Phil Spencer.

In an interview with The Times, Kirstie pledged to tackle inflated school holiday prices and said: "It's outrageous. It completely drives me totally potty. We are going to name and shame the worst offenders."

If Kirstie brings this to a national audience, you can bet your bottom dollar holiday rental owners will start taking flak from desperate parents wanting lower prices for their summer holidays.

In the vain hope Kirstie may be listening, here's a few reasons she shouldn't bother:

Holiday operators run for 12 months (not 6 weeks, Kirstie)

This one should be fairly obvious but Kirstie may be surprised to know that airlines, hotels and holiday properties don't magically unpack themselves over the summer and quietly fold away when kids go back to school. These are 12 month businesses.

Unfortunately people don't take breaks throughout the year and certain periods are busy for good reason. Given that these businesses get little to no trade in vast swathes of the year, they therefore have to cover ALL their costs in a limited period.

Hence the reason most travel operations vary prices throughout the year, and charge more in the summer.

If Kirstie could encourage more people to visit the Spanish Costas or French Riviera in January (when it's cold but cheap) I feel sure people would be able to adjust their pricing. Good luck on that, lady.

Beware of attacking your audience

Kirstie and Phil are famed in the UK for their property shows. When the market was booming they led the charge for people to scramble onto the property ladder at inflated prices, on huge mortgages, to buy very small boxes tastefully decorated in beige, beige and beige.

Taken literally this may be unfair and Kirstie was quick to deny all responsibility when the crash came. (Phil was more humble - his business got into real trouble during the credit crunch.) However they DID set the tone for a property buying dream which leaves behind a market that still looks dangerously overpriced.

Many buyers went on to invest in overseas properties that are now available for holiday rental. For those who bought in the boom years (with a little nudge from Kirstie's shows) they are currently clinging to the precipice of low interest rates after a torrid price crash and nasty recession.

These are the very people Kirstie will be putting the boot into with this absurd campaign - and many will have been fans of her TV shows. Mind who you upset.

Spare us the ordinary mum card!

The Honourable Kirstie Allsopp (yes, a proper title!) has a background drenched in blue blood and is married to a man of some considerable means. She is very far from being a normal mother and yet this campaign will no doubt present her as a champion of our rights.

I suspect her idea of a cheap holiday may be very different to most mothers.

So forgive the cynicism but lets tell it like it is: this campaign is a cheap, uninformed, potentially damaging way to drum up an audience.

We look forward to seeing the show.

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comments (1)

6th August 2010 15:51 GMT | Richard Marshall wrote...
Economics 101. Supply & demand. That is all there really is to be said. If you overprice, your potential guests will go elsewhere. Just because a peak season rate is two or three times higher than a low season rate doesn't mean that it is "fleecing the customer".

Richard Marshall
Nox Rentals
www.noxrentals.co.za



 

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