The South West is set for a staycation boom with top destinations fully booked up throughout the May half-term, summer holidays and beyond.
In Salcombe, families are booking out more luxurious holiday homes than before, choosing to spend money in the Ƶ rather than risk the confusing travel traffic light system and quarantine rules.
Jon Doyle, Managing Director of South Devon based holiday letting agency Coast & Country Cottages, said it has also seen a surge in bookings for its holiday homes with its newest listings securing up to 20 bookings within weeks of going live.
He said: “We are seeing bookings being made at unprecedented speed, with people planning their breaks earlier than ever. This year, our cottage occupancy rates from May half term through June, July and August are over 92% already, with advanced bookings for autumn, in particular October half term, also being secured at record speed. Amazingly, September and October weeks already have a 33% higher occupancy rate than the same point last year! This is a clear shift from the previous few years where customers have moved towards making more last minute bookings, often within eight weeks of the holiday.”
We are also seeing a change in the properties people are choosing to book, with customer seemingly looking to book larger and more luxurious properties, with less price sensitivity than they may have had in previous years”.
Salcombe Distilling Co operates a Gin school and bar in the town which have both seen high demand since lockdown restrictions eased.
Howard Davies, Co-Founder and Director, said: "People are very keen to be able to get back to meeting with friends again and have fantastic experiences at interesting venues away from home. Our bar in consistently full every day and our Gin School is currently fully booked - we very much hope that social distancing requirements will ease a little in the coming months and when it does we will be able to open up more capacity for additional bookings this summer."
He said that the business has been recruiting to support the high visitor levels expected over the coming months and it is setting up additional events and experiences at the Distillery, including limited edition gin tastings, cocktails demos and distillation masterclasses.
Hotels in the South Hams beauty spot of Salcombe are fully booked throughout August according to research by hotel booking platform, Hoo, while in Padstow, 99% of holiday accommodation had already been booked.
Hoo analysed holiday accommodation availability for a family of four across 12 popular staycation destinations throughout August. The research found that the average room rate per night was as high as £355 for the accommodation that remained available, but this climbed as high as £466 in the Sandbanks in Poole.
Visit Devon boss Sally Everton said that the honey pot areas such as Salcombe, Dartmouth and Brixham are pretty much fully booked out for the summer season but there is still availability across the county if consumers look for it, by visiting destination websites or contacting lesser known camp sites, caravan parks, hotels and B&Bs.
She said: "The main six week school holiday period is busy, but it always is. Travelling in the shoulder months, including June, September October, November and beyond is always an option for many as we are a destination for 365 days a year - extending the season is a main priority."
She said that recruitment is the biggest challenge to the industry, adding that accommodation providers are also being hit by cancellations by , depending on the weather and whether they can go abroad.
Ms Everton said: "Recruitment is a major challenge for many businesses and is one of our tourism and hospitality businesses biggest headaches at the moment."
She said it was partly due to Brexit with European workers returning home while on furlough and choosing not to return.
But she said the same could be said of many British staff who have had time to rethink during furlough.
In Kingsbridge, award winning restaurateur Jamie Rogers, who owns Twenty Seven, is offering a £1,000 bonus to new employees who join the team for the summer.
While in Cornwall, clotted cream makers Trewithen Dairy is taking on 35 staff to help the region is expecting to serve daily this summer.
Has your business struggled to recruit or faced cancellations from people booking elsewhere for the same week? Let us know in the comments section below
