Paul was quoted a whopping £10,232 per night
(Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)For many of us, we’ve had to trade in our overseas vacation for a staycation this year. While we may be led to believe that staying in the country is less stressful and a much more affordable alternative to a trip abroad, one man discovered the ‘staycation inflation’ in all its glory.
Paul Nickerson, a father of three from East Yorkshire, wanted to take his family on a summer holiday to Cornwall. He stumbled across a modern three-bedroom home on the holiday rentals community app, Vrbo, in the heart of the Cornish hotspot, St Ives.
He was left speechless when he discovered the stay would have cost him double the UK’s average annual salary. To stay at the St Ives house for the week of August 14, it would have been an extortionate £71,627 ($99,214) - an extortionate £10,232 ($14,172) a night!
Councillor Paul took to Twitter to address the ludicrous UK staycation prices.
£71 grand to take my kids for a week away in Cornwall - a bit of a p*ss take from some holiday home owners and companies this year. pic.twitter.com/iCC4iXDLts
— Cllr Paul Nickerson (@CouncillorPaul_) June 29, 2021
He said: “It’s a supply and demand issue and they’re exploiting it.
“A lot of people in the UK need and want a holiday, but many will not be able to afford them.”
“I don’t know anyone who can afford £71,000 for a week’s holiday”, he added.
One user responded sarcastically suggested trying Norfolk instead. In the image, the user was quoted an unbelievable £107,000 for seven nights.
If Cornwall's too much, you could try a week in Norfolk? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/5PO94sd5BG
— Adam Thomas (@AdamMerrivale) June 29, 2021
The Vrbo advertisement has since been removed. Paul pointed out that, while the Cornish pad was an extreme example, private owners should consider somewhat realistic prices that would encourage UK holiday-goers to return year after year.
They apparently removed the £71K pw pad now. It was obviously an extreme example, and private owners are free to charge what they like, but do remember us ordinary folk when it comes to setting prices, impress us and we will come back year on year https://t.co/LNjgIs5yVR
— Cllr Paul Nickerson (@CouncillorPaul_) July 5, 2021
The holiday rentals service, Vrbo pointed out that all rental prices are set by the hosts themselves. They said:
“As a two-sided marketplace, Vrbo connects holidaymakers and holiday-home hosts and as per our business model, all contractual agreements are closed between the traveller and host directly.
As all rental prices are set by the hosts themselves, Vrbo does not set, change or influence the property prices that a host chooses.
The rental amount, payment terms and cancellation policies are stated on the booking page for each property and must be acknowledged and agreed to by all holidaymakers before a booking on Vrbo is possible.”
For a more cost-efficient staycation, they suggested that “booking a holiday home with space for the whole family can make things cheaper per night, per person if splitting the cost between a group” and to ensure your holiday has a “flexible cancellation policy to put your mind at ease”.
