A new Opinium survey has revealed ten ways that Brits make their holiday money go further - essential reading when holiday prices are estimated to be 10% up on last year*.
The survey of Brits who have hired a car, commissioned by iCarhireinsurance.com, a leading provider of stand-alone car hire excess insurance (which can save travellers approximately £157** on average for a week’s cover compared with policies from a rental car company) identified the following money-saving tricks:
Take freebies from the hotel room: Nearly half (46%) have taken freebies such as shampoo and conditioner from the hotel room.
Make a sneaky ham butty from the breakfast buffet: Nearly 1 in 3 (30%) have taken food from the breakfast buffet for lunch.
Pass on the in-flight peanuts and refreshments: Three in ten (29%) have taken a packed lunch on a flight to avoid buying the airline’s food and when an in-flight sandwich is around £4.50 and a water almost £2 . A family of four could spend almost £30 before they’ve even landed.
Drinking in their room before going out: One in five (22%) have drank alcohol brought with them, or in a supermarket, before going out in the evening to save money buying it in a bar or restaurant.
Weigh down hand luggage rather than the suitcase: Nearly a fifth (17%) have put heavy items in their hand luggage to avoid paying excess baggage charges.
Wear extra clothes on the flight – even if it is 30 degrees! : Over one in ten (11%) have worn clothes from their suitcase to avoid paying excess baggage charges.
“Remember you’re 4 today not 5”: One in 10 (10%) have lied about a child’s age to get cheaper entry to an attraction.
Sweet dreams: Nearly one in ten (9%) have slept on transport/at the airport to avoid paying for a hotel for the night.
Just look casual: One in twenty (5%) have used the facilities of a better hotel by pretending to be a guest there.
Happy Anniversary!: One in twenty (5%) have said it was a special occasion (honeymoon, birthday or anniversary) to receive a perk.
Ernesto Suarez, CEO and founder of iCarhireinsurance.com, With holidays getting increasingly expensive many holiday makers are looking to save money where they can, from the most common taking of freebies from hotel rooms, to actually using the facilities of a better hotel!
He continues, A lot of money can also be saved by planning ahead when hiring a car. By working out in advance what extras you are going to need, hundreds can be saved by taking your own child car seats, and sat nav. Many drivers could save as much as 80% on car hire excess insurance by buying from an independent provider like iCarhireinsurance.com instead of waiting until the rental desk.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from Opinium Research. Total sample size was 2047 UK adults that have hired a car. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd to 4th May 2018. The survey was carried out online.
* Travelzoo has revealed that package holiday rates are expected to increase by up to 9% in 2018. https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/summer-2018-holiday-prices-10906404
** iCarhireinsurance.com surveyed car hire costs for the week, 28 July to 4 August 2018 in five European destinations (Barcelona, Crete, Faro, Milan and Nice) from six car hire companies (Europcar, Enterprise, Hertz, Sixt, Budget and Avis). The average price of a super damage waiver policy is £115, a super theft waiver policy is £39 and a tyre and windscreen policy is £27, amounting to £181. This is equivalent to an iCarhireinsurance.com car hire excess insurance policy from only £2.99 a day for European travel, £23.92 for a week, or £39.99 for an annual policy. £181 minus £23.92 is £157.
