23/07/2010 | Parents feel the pinch of school summer holidays
School summer holidays will cost British families an extra £26 billion this year
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With the school Summer holidays kicking off this weekend, the UK’s biggest hotel chain reveals that nationwide £26* billion will be spent by British families on keeping their children occupied.
Parents across the UK will need to tighten their belts over the coming weeks as Premier Inn predicts that on average each family will spend £1,515** over the six week break.
Typical costs for a family of 4 for the school Summer holiday will include:
• Average childcare costs per family - £984
• Lunch/ refreshments - £90
• Travel costs - £183.90
• ‘Extras’ (e.g. guide book/ souvenirs etc) - £40.50
• Average family day pass cost for popular attractions - £216
If parents want to take the kids away this Summer but don’t want to spend a fortune, Premier Inn currently has over 250,000 rooms available from just £29 this Summer*** in many of their 590 hotels located in both sunny seaside towns and city centres across the UK.
Premier Inn spokesperson, Steve Conway, said: ‘Parents are under increasing pressure to find cost-effective ways of entertaining their children throughout the Summer Holidays. Many families will choose to stay in the UK this Summer and by offering a quality, great value break, Premier Inn aims to help families feel refreshed and relieved of financial worry.’
Gemma Walker, mum of three from London says, ‘Summer Holidays are proving to be extremely costly for us this year and even the little extras that we buy to keep the kids happy are really adding up. In order to save some cash this year, we have decided to find new ways to holiday and keep the kids entertained.’
For a Great Day Out, Premier Inn also offers guests the chance to enjoy ‘Two for One’ and ‘Kids go Free’ deals on over 800 top family attractions including theme parks, museums and aquariums so you can really make the most of the Summer holidays without breaking the bank.
*£26 billion figure based on 17.1 million families in the UK each spending an average of £1,515 over the six week school Summer holidays
**£1,515 cost of school Summer holiday for a family of four, calculated by the following:
- Weekly UK holiday childcare cost for two children is £164 for five-day full-time holiday playscheme (according to Daycare Trust, 2010) – for six week period £164 x 6 = £984
- Average family day pass for popular attractions based on 2x adults, 2x child entry to six leading uk attractions (Drayton Manor Park, Chester Zoo, Alton Towers, Howletts Animal Park, Diggerland Devon and Diggerland Durham) - £72 (for 3x trips over 6 week period, £72x 3 = £216)
- Lunch/ refreshments - £30 (based on 4x lunches @£5, 4x drinks @ £1, 4 ice creams @ £1.50) (for 3 days out over 6 week period, £30 x 3 = £90)
- Average family train cost - £61.30, calculated on combined average cost for 2x adults, 2x children travelling by train to Drayton Manor Park from Birmingham, Chester Zoo from Manchester, Alton Towers from Nottingham, Howletts Animal Park from London, Diggerland Devon from Bristol and Diggerland Durham from Newcastle) (for 3 days out over 6 week period, £61.30 x3 = £183.90)
- ‘Extras’ such as guidebook and souvenirs - £13.50, based on average examples such as guidebook @ £3.30 and souvenirs @ £10. – for 3x days out over six week period, £13.50 x 3 = £40.50
***Rooms from £29 offer is available for single night stays and must be booked online at least 21 days in advance of stay. There are also a number of rooms available at £39 and £49. No cancellations, amendments or refunds can be made.
Offer is available at selected Premier Inns only and is subject to availability. Please check alternative dates if your selected date is not available. Offer valid for minimum two night stays Mondays to Saturdays excluding the periods 06.09.10 until 13.10.10 inclusive or 01.11.10 until 16.12.10 inclusive where the offer is not available on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Offer valid for minimum one night stays on any day of the week between the periods 27.08.10 until 30.08.10 and 14.10.10 until 31.10.10 inclusive. Offer valid for minimum one night stays on Sundays throughout the offer period. Offer also applies throughout the offer period to one night stays at participating airport and motorway service station hotels. No cancellations, amendments or refunds can be made. Offer is available at selected Premier Inns only and is subject to availability.
