Depending on the region, more than half of the accommodations can be cancelled free of charge: In the popular summer destination of Bournemouth, there are around 60% of all accommodations and 57% in Brighton.
Holidu, the search engine for holiday rentals, is responding to one of the most important travel themes of 2021: flexible cancellation options. Since the corona pandemic disrupted the industry, travel behaviour has significantly changed, and the possibility of free cancellation options is now crucial for many travellers. Over two million holiday rentals can already be cancelled free of charge on Holidu.
- British favourites Bournemouth, Brighton and Torquay all offer over 50% of their rentals with free cancellation
- Portugal, France and Spain are the European countries with the highest percentage of rentals with free cancellation options
- Holiday accommodations with flexible cancellation conditions are booked up to five times more frequently
Johannes Siebers, CEO and Co-founder of Holidu, explains: "The holiday rental market lagged so far behind other travel segments, flexible cancellation conditions in hotels were for instance already for a long time much more established. We look forward to catching up here and offering travellers wishing to book a holiday rental for their trip more than two million accommodations for flexible booking already. We can also significantly simplify the search for rentals that can be cancelled free of charge with a filter option."
Which are the destinations with the best cancellation conditions?
By investigating Holidu data, company have been able to determine which countries and regions have the highest percentage of properties where cancellation is free. This is data that can be of great help to all those who are already looking forward to enjoying a much-needed holiday but are afraid of losing money on a booking due to the current situation.
Depending on the region, more than half of the accommodations can be cancelled free of charge: In the popular summer destination of Bournemouth, there are around 60% of all accommodations and 57% in Brighton. Torquay hits 54% while Whitby scores with approximately 43 per cent flex accommodations. Regions that have some catching up to do include St. Ives (39%), Cornwall (39%) and Newquay (36%).
In regard to the international travel situation, Portugal is the clear winner, being the European country that offers the most holiday rentals with free cancellation option at 67%. These flexible booking options, as well as Portugal’s recent news regarding welcoming British travellers this summer, positions it as a top choice for holidaymakers seeking some post-lockdown sun. In second place is France with 66% and third is Spain, with 63% (Majorca, a typical go-to summer destination for Brits, has a respectable figure of 53% rentals with free cancellation options).
New search filter "free cancellation”
The Holidu founders Johannes and Michael Siebers have made it their mission to finally make searching for and booking holiday rentals easy – and since corona, also much more flexible. In any search, visitors to the Holidu website can use filters such as amenities, price or rating to find the right accommodation for them. Now the selection is extended by the filter "free cancellation". If this is activated, only holiday lettings for which free cancellation is possible after booking appear in the search results. In the detailed information on the accommodations, the exact deadlines are listed, for example, two weeks or even three days before departure.
More and more holiday rental providers are set on flexible cancellation rules The holiday rental search engine Holidu not only aggregates the offers of all major booking portals such as HomeAway and Booking.com, but also those of many regional specialist providers. Thus, customers can find millions of holiday accommodations bundled from over a thousand providers on a side and compare transparently. "Last year it became apparent that the cancellation conditions of the individual providers were handled very differently. For the customer, that meant reading a lot of fine print," says Johannes Siebers. Around 38% of holiday rental reservations were cancelled in 2020. A great frustration for many travellers, as holiday rental trips have been booming since the outbreak of the corona pandemic and is the preferred type of accommodation for many.
For several months, therefore, the Holidu team has been working flat out to roll out new cancellation models with partner portals and holiday rental companies. "We see that flexible conditions are very much in demand with customers. Holiday rentals with good cancellation options generate up to five times more bookings, and half of all providers now rely on the concept" reports Johannes Siebers.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
