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UK self-catering accommodation prices soar amid pandemic

Self-catered accommodation in the UK costs on average 40% more than it did in summer 2019, according to research by consumer group Which? and the BBC’s Panorama.

The study suggests holidaymakers are paying an average of £300 more per week in August than they did before the pandemic.

The figures come from AirDNA, which monitors websites such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

The average cost of one night of self-catered accommodation for two people in Brighton was £109 in 2019, but is now £206 – a rise of 89% – according to AirDNA’s data.

Catherine Lane, who lets six properties in Brighton, told Panorama she put up some of her prices this year because her costs had risen considerably, such as cleaning bills.

Holiday booking site Vrbo told the programme it “does not set, change or influence the property prices a host chooses”.

Which? also looked at price differences between holidaying in the UK and travelling abroad.

It found a week in Brighton for £1,131, while a hotel in Nice in the south of France, which included flights, cost £1,085.

A week in Lake Windermere in the Lake District cost £2,424, compared to just £802 for flights and accommodation for a week in Lake Garda in northern Italy.

Which? travel editor Rory Boland said accommodation prices in 2019 were already more expensive in the UK than abroad, adding: “This isn’t a pandemic problem only; the pandemic has made it worse.”

The Panorama programme, The Great British Staycation?, is at 7.30pm on Wednesday (August 25) on BBC One, or later on BBC iPlayer.

Pictured: Brighton pier by Steve Buckley/Shutterstock

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