Hotels across the UK are suffering from a spate of last minute cancellations as vacationers abandon their plans to stay abroad.
Some businesses have cancellation rates of up to 50 percent, with hotels in city centers being particularly hard hit by the decision to swap a domestic trip for a domestic trip foreign destinations despite the logistical challenges of testing and documentation required to reach many European countries.
Data-driven hotel booking service Avvio shows that cancellations prior to the opening of international trips have increased by just 4 percent, with the majority of abandoned bookings coming from couples.
The demand for accommodation in some UK venues remains strong, especially in resorts and hotels for families, which means that many canceled rooms can be filled with new bookings.
But the rush to go abroad is bad news for the domestic tourism industry.
The UK vacation industry has expected a busy summer to make up for some of the losses suffered during the pandemic, but in recent weeks it has been hit by adverse weather conditions and so-called “pingdemics” leading to staff shortages and cancellations from travelers Receive notifications asking them to stay home.
Michael De Jongh, Avvio’s Chief Commercial Officer, which accounts for approximately $ 3 billion in hotel bookings annually.
“They hit the hotels in the city center hard. Many were only 30 percent full before international traffic was reopened. It’s a nightmare for them as most of these bookings are never filled out. ”
He added: “The ‘Pingdemic’ has also had an impact on the number of guests who cancel at the last minute and the staffing levels in the hotels.”
In downtown hotels, almost 60 percent of cancellations come from couples, compared with just 9 percent from families.
However, the numbers also indicate a more optimistic trend for British travelers to replace foreign tourists in historic hotspots like Cambridge, Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Businesses in cities have reported high numbers of domestic vacationers taking advantage of the opportunity to visit, while incoming tourism from markets such as the US and China remains minimal. According to VisitBritain, overseas visits are expected to hit just 28 percent of pre-pandemic levels this summer.
