Has the Credit Crunch/Euro Affected your Holiday Plans?

[jiggggy]

I cant really see us going to PP either this year. Even tho weve had a fantastic offer for an apt, the flights just havnt come down , and i dont care what anyone says, eating out in PP is going to be expensive this year. Not just PP, but Europe in general. So unless i can find a really great deal on the flight, it looks like it could be the Lake District again.

 

[Joanne]

We normally book the apartment in September and the flights soon after when they are normally cheaper but this year First Choice flights have remained well over £100 more than we paid last year with Ryanair and Easyjet similar prices and the apartment we stayed in last year has also shot up in price due to the weak pound so we are waiting to see how things go before we book

 

[spudbag]

For us it's something of a waiting game. Would hate to miss a trip to PP for the first time since '96, but the prices are generally a little hot for our liking.

We have just booked a short break to the Costa Blanca for next month to let the increasingly mobile Little Chipper run around like a maniac in slightly warmer climes, but that was, how shall I put it, cost effective!

We'll probably take the plunge sometime in the Spring - just hope there's a little drop in the prices by then.

 

[whaleywanderer]

Well Pollensa, you certainly got a response to your post and it would seem that there are quite a few stalwart PP fans who are having to forgo their annual fix this year.

The restaurant/hotel/apartment owners are also going to feel the pinch if they don't try to meet the tourists at least some of the way by lessening their profit to attract trade. What's the point in charging top bucks and not having any custom when the cafe next door is cheaper and heaving! Everyone will be looking for value for money this year. I appreciate that technically the weakness of the GBP is not their problem but it does become their problem when it affects trade.

It's a hard time for everybody at the moment, so lets all try to make sure that PP does not become a ghost town (not that I think that would ever happen).

Tourists - cut your cloth to your budget - menu of the day - water instead of wine

Traders - Please try to encourage custom by sympathetic prices.

 

[Sparky]

I totally agree Whaley, some of the prices apartment and villa owners are charging is crazy, i have been told many are very worried because they are not getting the bookings. Surely it makes more sense to have a bit less profit than no money at all.
I know it's great to sit in a frontline restaurant, dining and enjoying the view but you are paying dear for that. For much cheaper meals of great quality go to the back street ones, you can save a fortune.

 

[Gommar Goffer]

Fortunately we do not have to factor in accomodation costs and we will be out as usual Feb. half term, Easter, July and a weekend in Nov. Well the wife and daughter will - me only feb. at present. Our son is coming over in June with some university mates, so probably best to give the island a miss then!

We shall probably use the Barbie more and maybe cut down the spending during the day. But we do enjoy our meals out and may look at cheaper restaurants and MDD (do not usually do the MMD)

As someone who imports from europe for a living I am looking at potentially reduces income of several K, but I am still alive!

And do not forget that for those who go in July/August there is still 5-6 months for the £ to rally - although it is at the present time heading down again!

GG

 

[HelenMac]

We, like many others, are feeling the pinch at the moment with work tight and eldest going to Uni in September. We usually have booked our flights back in November but as yet cannot find ones cheap enough!!! Apartment has been booked as we always book the same two weeks, but with the melt-down coming with the recession, we cannot see how PP will be as busy as usual.
Here's hoping we will be able to meet with the usual crowd in July....

 

[Sharonh]

Hi

Like Gommar G we also do not have to worry about accommodation costs. We booked our flights early - the day Easyjet released them. However, having had an awful week at work the only thing that kept me going was the thought of April and PP. I think we may well not eat out as much - but hey, we are still in PP.

On the up side we bought our apartment at around €1.50 to the pound with a sterling mortgage so all is not lost! That's what I tell myself anyway!

Roll on April.

Sharon

PS Even my four year-old was asking when our next holiday was going to be. When asked why him why he said the weekend wasn't long enough! He loves school - not!

 

[Sharonh]

I should have included this in my previous posting but I for one hope Jane manages to make it to PP this year.

Jane - I will really miss your excellent restaurant reviews if you don't manage it.

 

[Usandthetwokids]

Booked our apartment in Bellresguard when we returned to UK in August. Priced in GBP so not affected by fall in exchange rate from that point of view. Will eat in more often and BBQ on the roof terrace, but its my big five-o so will splash out for a night at C'an Cuarassa. Flights also booked with BMI from LHR for approx. GBP 750 for four of us. Already looking forward to my early morning stroll along the Pine Walk and swim in the pool. We are all looking forward to coming back and will be there for La Patrona, a fantastic experience that costs little! I can imagine local owners who rent to people from the UK or run restaurants will feel the pinch of course. We will enjoy our holiday, although spending money will not go as far this time around. We will see if lack of visitors this year will put a downward pressure on prices in the resort.

 

[JH02JLH]

I should have included this in my previous posting but I for one hope Jane manages to make it to PP this year.

Jane - I will really miss your excellent restaurant reviews if you don't manage it.

Thank you, Sharon!

I did take a peek at private villas and apartments yesterday in my lunch hour so you never know!

Jane

 

[whaleywanderer]

Hi Jane - I've sent you a PM.

 

[Mark1875]

We had planned to book for a month, sending my two kids out with my parents in advance with my wife and I joining later. However a number issues arose including my fathers slow recovery from illness, my brothers announcement of his wedding in Rhodes in May and a credit crunch and we have now plumped for two weeks in late July/ Early August for the six of us in a three bedroom apartment in Llenaire.

We tend to eat on the balcony at Breakfast and Lunch and eat dinner out ever second night. This year we have a roof terrace with BBQ so we may reduce our eating out to one night in three and stick to some of the evening MDD's on offer. However, as many others have said, we love the island of Mallorca and PP in particular and my boys have made great friends in PP who they look forward to meeting up with every year. My wife and I also have close Mallorquin friends who we enjoy catching up with, the one year we chose Catalonia instead, we really missed the island. I think we earn it and look forward to my trip every year.

 

[pollensa]

Thanks for all these great replies.

For our part, we still instead to visit several times a year for short breaks as these suit us with our business commitments. As there are only 2 of us now (most of the time) & we're flexible with dates (both running businesses), we tend to go by the cheapest flights & take it from there. I use skyscanner - you'll now see a great search banner at the top of the Flights Forum - I like the graph that shows the cheapest days often Tue or Wed - & we cope with handluggage only! - see my great Great Packing Tips!

We do now choose the cheapest car, have eaten MDD for a while anyway - lunch time is cheaper then evenings - but intend to cook ever so often now. But what we have done is put any other trips on hold (we fancied a cruise on the Norwegian Fjords so maybe next year!).

For those who are finding difficult to travel this year, I did wonder if you had looked at other options e.g.

• hotel or aparthotel with meals or, dare I say it, All-Inclusive & escaping to eat out once in a while - we used to do that - the big travel cos are trying very hard at the moment & Thomas Cook have a Balearics Sale this weekend - see Latest Holidays Deals
• Or flying on a different cheaper day of the week & either trying to get a villa on a different changeover date (ask the owner as you never know) or staying in a hotel at the end/beginning of the trip - we have done that too.

I haven't compared prices on any of these options but some of these may be something you hadn't considered before.

 

[Frankie]

Holiday this year in PP.

Hi there.
We are fortunate to be able to come to PP at least 3 times in a year, but I know that unless eating out will be more competitive, (due to the state of the British Pound) we will be eating in a lot more. This also means we will be unable to visit PP as often as we would like.

Come on you Restaurant Owners, enable us to visit/and eat out, slash your prices! There is a difference between making a profit and being greedy! I am sure there will be many of us PP lovers who are in the same boat. If things get more expensive, tourism will suffer and we all know where that leads.

I love PP and would be devastated if I couldn't visit.

 

[Angie]

I will be on my first visit to PP in June and staying in a villa. We normally eat out every night but will probably shop and eat in/bbq to save some money. When we do go out in the evening, I will be looking for good value among the bars and restaurants

I cant imagine not having a holiday though despite the credit crunch, its nice to have something to look forward to.

 

[jmac]

We booked on our return last year and surprise surprise it was actually
cheaper than the holiday just returned from. Eating out for people
already in the euro zone wont be too bad either even if the prices have increased when you consider a chinese take away in Ireland for four main
courses can cost more than 40 euros, a big difference to paying not too
much more and having drinks and possibly desert depending on where you go.

 

[Rangers1]

Ok so the Euro v the Pound is not good but if you stay at home the price will be the same or there abouts as going into the euro zone, plus in PP you will get the weather.

I get annoyed at the over use of the words credit crunch the way i look at it is, if you are still in work and your are in the same situation as 14 months ago,you could still be on your fixed rate mortgage or if you have coime off that you are on the SVR mortgage or a tracker ,then you were ok with your fixed rate, if you are on the svr or tracker then you are better off, petrol has come down. Like others have said i will watch the pennies at home if i need to but a holiday for the crew is at the top of the list. I do understand the problems self employed have before anyone shouts that one up. As for places dropping prices in PP cant see that happening although it would be good.

 

[pollensa]

I don't want to go off-topic & discuss the use of the term 'Credit Crunch'. However the UK is technically in recession. If you are in work and the company you work for is secure then you are very lucky. Unfortunately many people are affected as they either run businesses or work for ones that are suffering. Others are retired & living on savings that are generating much less income due to lower interest rates.

Here at Holiday Webs, income from holiday bookings is down by about 25% on last Jan, usually our best month. Fortunately income is up in other areas - we have more rentals this year as more owners need to cover Euro mortgages with GBP income. But we are affected & if I had many employees their jobs would be at risk.

Anyway, sales of holidays did pick up last week & we do seem to be selling quite a lot of package holidays this year so maybe February will be our peak month in 2009!

 

[Rangers1]

Hi

It was just my take on the whole thing and i did not want to make light of anyone being out of work and thats why i stated what i did. I think in future I will keep my own thoughts to myself.

Thought this was a forum how wrong can i be.