I save all year round for the holidays that we have throughout the year so I want them to be perfect when we get there! Even so, I’m not sure I agree with the latest holiday ‘extra’ that you can now buy with some holidays!
Over the last few years, tour operators and airlines have started to add sneaky little extras on to the cost of a holiday.
It started with the option to pre-book seats together which on the face of it seems like an OK added extra but then some tour operators started to charge for meals on the flights as well as transfers between the airport and your hotel.
Next came the extra charges for hold luggage but this latest extra takes the biscuit! Basically, Thomas Cook are going to trial a new service that can be pre-booked in 30 of their hotels this Summer allowing customers to pay £22 to book a sun lounger of their choosing in advance of their holiday.
If you’re visiting one of these hotels then you’ll be able to have a look at a map to choose your preferred location – you can even see if your chosen sunbed is in the sun or the shade! Not all sunbeds will be available for pre-booking so you should still get one if you decide not to pre-pay for one but I imagine all the good ones will be gone!
Anyone who’s had to try and locate a sun lounger in a good position around a hotel pool in the past without getting up super early and reserving them will no doubt consider this as an option, I probably would myself to be honest but it doesn’t mean that I’m pleased that there’s now yet another factor to potentially include in my holiday budgeting.
It just feels like yet another way to make money from holidaymakers who already scrimp and save to pay for the hard-earned holiday! Lots of us will need to spend less on other areas of the holidays just to ensure they get time to relax and sunbathe at the hotel they’re staying at during holiday.
With holiday costing more money to being with, do tour operators really have the best interest of their guests at heart? What do you think about tour operators adding extra fees such as flight meals and sitting next to each other? Have tour operators gone too far?
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