Nearly a quarter of all Hoseasons bookings last month were for holidays in the next 7-14 days, according to its MD. Geoff Cowley said 22% of the company's bookings were for last-minute accommodation.

“In the last five years the industry has become used to people choosing where to holiday at the 11th hour, but this year it’s even later than that," he said. “It isn’t just domestic businesses that are seeing this trend, as many package companies and overseas operators are discounting heavily to try and get people to get book, especially as last minute breaks are traditionally shorter and favour UK and European city breaks."
He said the rise was due to economic fears, a perception of last minute bargains, the World Cup and the UK sunshine. “All of these factors have combined to create a ‘last-minute bubble’, which means there are some great offers, especially on the web, where prices change on daily basis," he said. But Cowley warned that once the school holidays come this will change.
“My advice would be to look 3-4 weeks ahead, so if you are planning an early August break don’t leave it to the end of July.”

 By Bev Fearis