Agency predicts strong holiday lets summer coming up

Bookings for staycations continue to surpass pre-pandemic levels, according to holiday home rental agency Sykes Holiday Cottages. 

The company has revealed that bookings so far this year are up 22 per cent versus the same point in 2020, while there has been a 158 per cent increase in bookings compared to the same period last year.

Similarly, bookings for the upcoming February half-term are up 27 per cent compared to February 2020.

It says the highest volume of bookings are for Whitby, Ambleside and Bowness-on-Windermere.

According to Sykes’ income data, holiday homeowners earned on average £28,000 annually per property last year, compared with almost £21,000 in 2019 – a figure that is set to rise again this year as bookings and occupancy increase.

Sykes also revealed the top earning locations for holiday home owners last year, with Dorset, the Cotswolds and the Peak District taking the top three spots, and Devon and Somerset rounding out the top five.

Meanwhile, in a survey of 1,000 holiday goers, Sykes found that 55 per cent say they will still opt for UK staycations even when international travel restrictions have lifted.

On average Britons are planning to take two staycations in the next 12 months, with almost half saying limiting their environmental impact is a key consideration when choosing a UK break over foreign travel.

Other factors for opting to holiday closer to home include the ease and convenience and getting to enjoy the outdoors.

Graham Donoghue, chief executive at Sykes Holiday Cottages, says: “Bookings for our holiday lets this year are through the roof, showing that the staycation boom is here to stay.

“While bookings for February half-term have been record-breaking, we expect Easter and summer to be no different, and bookings are already coming in for autumn and winter thick and fast.

“With the trend for staycations going nowhere, the attractiveness of holiday letting as an investment opportunity continues to go from strength to strength. We’ve witnessed a strong pipeline of enquiries in recent months from those new to holiday letting or wanting to rent out a second home as many look to reap the financial rewards on offer.”