Is the UK Hotel Industry Treating Single Travellers Fairly ?

 

UK Hotels, and the european hotel industry generally, have traditionally focused on providing holiday accommodation for couples.

There are a number of historical reasons for this. Hotel accommodation tends not to attract families, particularly larger ones with small children. Single travellers were in the minority and when many of our current hotels were designed or refitted, couples without children were the main holiday customers, particularly during the peak holiday seasons, so that rooms were primarily designed to cater for their group. Some single rooms were included in the mix, but these tended to be located in odd corners not large enough for a double room, and often sited high up near the eaves, requiring a considerable degree of fitness to climb multiple flights of stairs and usually quite unsuitable for those with disabilities.

In recent years, the demographic changes in our population have highlighted the resulting poor provision made for single travellers in our UK hotel estate. The elderly have tended to contribute an increasingly large demand for holiday hotel accommodation, particularly in the short break category where coach travel is included. Although couples do still form the principal group, increasing numbers of travellers in the 60-80 age group now travel alone. This can be for a variety of reasons, including personal preference, but is often obligatory following the loss of a spouse or partner.

Two problems arise for these individuals when trying to book a holiday – lack of available single accommodation and the traditional single room supplement that is normally charged to all single bookings. This varies widely and can range from a relatively nominal amount (ca 5-10% of the total) where the hotel wants to ‘sell’ excess rooms, to a whopping 30-40% for a typical 5-7 day break. The surcharge for single occupation of a double or twin room is even higher, and generally at least 50%.

There are two issues regarding fairness here:

·         *   The justification (or lack of it!) for surcharging singles for travelling alone (often through no ‘fault’ of their own).

·         *   The paucity of single accommodation and the apparent unwillingness of the industry to do anything about it.

There is very little justification, to my mind, for charging such excessive ‘extras’ for accommodation which is often cramped and substandard as compared with the rest of the hotel’s offering. The paucity of single accommodation is a little less indictable, given the cost of structural upgrades, but hotels could be much more proactive in offering twin or double rooms to singles when demand is lower off-season. Servicing a room will probably actually cost less for a single traveller than a couple, so any argument on a costs basis is invalid. The real reason is a fairly obvious financial one - selling a room to 2 people, albeit at a reduced per-person rate will yield more revenue than a single person, hence the structural bias in favour of couples.

Are our hoteliers missing a trick here ?

I would argue they may well be. Here's why...

The demographic changes we’ve seen over recent years are set to continue, with the population becoming increasingly elderly. Governments Europe-wide are concerned about cost of future pension provision, based on reliable statistical predictions – witness Burnham’s recent (and politically dangerous) promise to axe the hitherto sacrosanct state pension ‘Triple Lock’.

There is already pent-up demand from disgruntled singles, and the elderly are also much less likely to want self-drive holidays or long-haul air travel. The UK holiday market for elders is therefore likely to expand. Cost-of-living pressures alone in any case will preclude increasingly expensive holidays abroad for many…and the pain and complexity of air travel provides an additional deterrent. Increasing numbers of singles will also enter the market for reasons already discussed.

The hotels that do best in the current highly competitive business environment are therefore likely to be those that adapt to cater for this demand by removing the existing penalties for the expanding singles group and promoting their offerings to this group.

The more entrepreneurial of them will recognise the need to adapt and take the opportunity to redesign their room offerings to cater for the increased demand from single travellers. 

Goodwill is an important factor to take into account here also – the first providers to offer better conditions for singles will likely achieve, and hold onto, their repeat business, and will acquire a reputation for fairness and ‘value for money’.

And this challenge won’t be confined to the older age groups - younger single business travellers form an important customer group for hotels off-season – in an increasingly cost-conscious climate, they too will become more discriminating on price, and will also have an eye on quality.

For the doubters, I would advise a re-think….but don’t leave it too long !

First published 9.10.26