UK staycation market update

Parent company, Sykes Holiday Cottages, has revealed the voice of the customer through their annual survey. We take a look at the UK staycation market in Northumbria.

Read on to learn the key points from this survey.

Holidays in the UK

According to our recent survey,  holidaymakers have on average 2 UK breaks planned in the next 12 months. September has also seen an increase as a month of choice for a UK holiday and is now more popular than July. Consider leaving September open for guest bookings if you haven’t already done so. Guests are also looking to book closer to the time of the holiday, rather than far in advance.

39% of consumers also ranked a holiday cottage in their top three choices of holiday type, with an interest in self-catering apartments also increasing. 67% of participants would also consider staying in a holiday home in the next year.

Consideration of environmental impact has increased since the previous survey, with more people choosing UK holidays in an effort to be more ‘environmentally friendly’.

Rivershield

How do guests choose a holiday let agency?

With so many agencies to choose from, we asked participants about their top priorities when selecting an agency for their UK holidays.

When choosing a holiday cottage agency to book from, consumers’ top three priorities are:

• That the property offers good value for money
• The property has accurate and detailed property descriptions
• The agency has a variety of high-quality properties available to choose from

Social media reputation has also increased in a consumer’s consideration when selecting an agency. Sykes outperforms the rest of the market when asked about reputation in the staycation industry.

Also looking at repeat bookings, our survey found that the top three reasons for a consumer to book again are:

• They felt that the property offered good value for money
• There was excellent customer service available
• The agency has a flexible booking policy

58% of our participants also preferred to use a website over app, in person or over the phone when booking a holiday. Fortunately, at Sykes Holiday Cottages, all of these methods are available for our guests in addition to our tailored brand websites.

Dunlin Cottage

Let with the experts

Interested in letting your property with a local company, that still has key industry insights from a national brand? Complete our owner form here, phone us on 01665830783, or pop into our local office in Alnmouth. 

**All data is taken from our parent company, Sykes Holiday Cottages Staycation Index, and is correct at the time of writing**