Families’ holiday blues

Rising costs forcing desperate measures for quality times away

CASH- STRAPPED parents are lying about the age of their kids and even sneaking them into accommodation in a desperate bid to bring school holiday costs down.

Squeezed by cost-of-living pressures, parents are also resorting to hauling kids out of school during term to avoid peak holiday-period prices.

New analysis by travel website Wotif has examined the holiday hacks parents have confessed to in their attempts to scrimp and save. It found: ONE in two had lied about their child’s age so they could get a freebie while travelling; ONE in five parents had snuck their children into accommodation to escape being charged extra; and THREE in five parents preferred to take their children out of school during term to avoid being slammed with excessive school holiday charges.

Consumer finance expert Lisa Montgomery said families were feeling the pinch and this was forcing them to cut corners to save on a family getaway.

“Families are struggling under the pressures on the household incomes and this is a brutally-honest reflection of this,’’ she said.

“The heavy burden of utility payments, mortgage repayments and associated debt is putting immense pressure on the household budget.”

Ms Montgomery said many people were resorting to having a separate bank account to “hive off an amount” towards their holidays throughout the year to help ease the monetary burden.

Parents have also conceded they took sickies so they could add an extra day or two to spend more time with their children during the term breaks.

Wotif travel spokeswoman Amanda Behre said there were some ways families could save on their holiday costs.

“You will potentially save a chunk of money if you are flexible with your dates, for instance travelling outside of school holidays,’’ she said.

“If you are looking at holi- daying at some of the more popular destinations that Australians tend to travel, such as the Gold or Sunshine coasts, it can get busy or more expensive over the school holiday periods when lots of crowds come through.”

She also warned about getting sucked in by rock-bottom airfare prices because the accommodation in these destinations could leave a large sting to the hip pocket.