Is the pandemic staycation boom OVER? Average price of UK holiday bookings plunges

The staycation fever sparked by Britain’s cycle of Covid lockdowns may finally be starting to cool off, new figures suggest.

The average price of holiday lets in the UK has begun to dip slightly, while demand for popular European hotspots including Portugal, France and Greece has risen after countries on the Continent finally ditched their draconian pandemic-era restrictions. 

Data shared with MailOnline shows average prices fell to £157 in September this year from £164 a year earlier.

The figures provided by data company AirDNA show 2021 was a bumper year for staycations, with the average price per night hitting a high of £176 in August last year – a 32% hike compared to August 2019 – as Britons enjoyed their newfound freedoms in the summer.

This summer’s staycation surge was also partly fuelled by flight and strike chaos at airports across Europe.

Separate data from Group Accommodation reveals that demand for holidays overseas has risen, with searches for homes in Portugal and France were up by 38% and 36% respectively during the same time period.

And Holiday Letology’s Amanda Stecker told MailOnline that her business had experienced a surge among Americans taking advantage of the weaker Pound against the US dollar.

The average price of UK holiday lets has begun to dip slightly, while demand for popular European hotspots including Portugal and France has risen after countries on the Continent finally ditched their pandemic-era restrictions. Data shared with MailOnline shows prices for UK lets tumbled to £157 in September this year from £164 a year earlier

She estimated that the number of Americans booking UK holiday lets had doubled year-on-year. 

Meanwhile, forward bookings for December to March are down by 10% compared to the same period in 2019, AirDNA found.

‘There are still plenty of bookings to be had, however they are coming from slightly different sources to before and during the pandemic,’ Ms Stecker said. ‘For example, the Americans are taking advantage of the exchange rate and coming to the UK with usually a higher expectation of what they will get.’

Group Accommodation’s James Maughan told MailOnline: ‘Last year, we saw UK enquiry volume spike significantly as Covid lockdowns eased, with enquiries up 150% compared to pre-Covid. 

The best cities and towns in the UK for a weekend staycation break or day trip have been ranked by Which?, with York named the number one big city to visit. Above is The Shambles, a famously enchanting street in the city

Cambridge has been revealed as the highest-ranking medium-sized city in the survey. Which? Travel recommends punting along the city’s River Cam (above) to take in views of the ‘university colleges that overlook its willow-fringed banks’

‘This year, enquiry volumes have returned to just above pre-Covid levels, highlighting just how popular holiday rentals and multi-generation getaways are becoming post-pandemic.

‘We have also seen strong year-on-year growth in traffic to our overseas properties in 2022 compared to 2021. 

‘Specific destinations where this growth has been noticeable when comparing the year-to-date figure for 2022 with the website traffic during the same period last year, include Portugal, France, Greece and Spain.’

The decline comes as the soaring cost of living and fuel cost increases leave Britons seeking cheaper alternatives to their day-to-day lives as purse strings tighten across Britain. 

Earlier this year, thousands of UK families returning from half-term getaways and bank holiday breaks were left stranded abroad while others were hit by further delays, with more flights cancelled earlier this week by airlines such as easyJet and Wizz Air.

Teachers were among those set to miss the return to work after airlines cancelled hundreds of flights.