Why ARE our holidays a rip-off — just because we travel on our own?
TODAY Money Mail calls on travel firms to treat single people fairly.
Last month, we highlighted the case of Peter, from Somerset, who was charged a ‘single supplement’ to travel alone after his wife died last year.
His story prompted a deluge of letters and emails from other solo travellers, many of whom are widowed, who say they have also been penalised by ‘ unfair and disproportionate’ additional fees. Our investigation can now reveal how: SingLe travellers are routinely charged twice as much to go on holiday as those who book as a couple;
MONEY Mail readers cite cruise firms as among the worst offenders;
WIDOWS and widowers can no longer afford holidays after their partners die;
SOME hotels and cruise ships offer no single rooms at all;
HOLIDAYMAKERS can be made to pay a single supplement even when booking a single room.
The population of single people in england and Wales, aged 16 and over, is now 16,361,685 — an increase of 3.9 million from 2002 to 2017. And 6.6 pc of this age group — 3,139,776 — are single because they’ve been widowed.
The travel industry defends the extra charges as necessary because if they charge per room, one person less will be spending on extras such as drinks and food.
Yet experts warn that the travel companies are alienating a huge share of the market as a result.
Dennis Fisher, 81, from Leeds, knows too well how expensive single supplements can be. He was married to wife Sandra for 58 years, and during that time they enjoyed dozens of cruises. But retired dental nurse Sandra died suddenly from an aneurysm in her brain in February last year.
Several months later, Dennis, a retired export director of a clothing company, tried to book another cruise with friends. But the grandfather- of- four soon realised he could not afford it.
Princess Cruises had advertised a double room for £2,058 on an 11-night fly-cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
But when Dennis tried booking the same room as a single customer, he found out he would have to pay £1,943 — £914 more than someone booking as part of a couple would pay.
He says: ‘it was my fervent wish to continue cruising, but i cannot afford to as a result of these totally disproportionate charges.’
retired local government officer Jayne Tee cancelled her holiday to Majorca after she found out she would have to pay a supplement for what she thought was a single room.
The great-grandmother from Fleet, Hampshire, lost her husband, Bill, six years ago.
But last month, Jayne, 75, was told by a Saga employee that the £1,014 price for her seven- day holiday included a £140 supplement, even though she thought she was booking a single room. After originally agreeing, she later decided to cancel the holiday as she felt the charge was unfair. She says: ‘i was pretty disgusted when they told me.’
Money Mail researched the prices of holidays for single travellers online and compared them with those offered to couples.
A room on an 11-night cruise around europe with MSC was on sale for £2,398 for a double booking — or £1,199 per person. But a single traveller would still have to pay the full £2,398. And a single holidaymaker would have paid 91 pc more for a 12-night South Caribbean cruise with royal Caribbean. While the firm advertised a room for two at a price of £1,760, a single traveller would have to pay £1,678.
Campaigners say supplement fees are often too high. Last year, a study conducted by the good Housekeeping institute found the often hidden costs of being single, across all aspects of life, amount to £2,049 a year.
Pippa Jacks, group editor of Travel Trade gazette, says: ‘A small supplement is not unreasonable, but one which means a solo traveller pays twice as much seems unfair.’
Former pensions minister ros Altmann suggests industry guidelines on charges for single people would ensure that people are not ripped off.
She says: ‘if a hotel could sell a double room to two people, then a single traveller can’t expect to pay half the price, but perhaps there could be an industry norm when it comes to these charges.’
Travel Association ABTA says solo travellers may save money by booking organised tours or even sharing a room.
All the firms Money Mail approached said supplements varied across all types of bookings. Money Mail also found several hotels belonging to chains such as Marriott, Holiday inn and Premier inn offered no single beds and charged per room — so solo holidaymakers would have to pay twice as much.
Meanwhile, a Best Western hotel in Peckham, South-east London, advertised a single room for £50.01, with a double room at £52.89.
One Money Mail reader sent us a receipt from a tour operator showing he had booked a single hotel room for £125 — yet was charged a £15 ‘single supplement’, too.
‘The room is only big enough for me — it is one single bed and one person,’ the 85-year- old widow says. ‘And, of course, i only eat one person’s food each day.’
Dennis Fisher wrote to several cruise companies to ask for justification for the charges, but all maintained the supplements were necessary for commercial reasons.
Princess Cruises confirmed it did not offer single rooms, and says its pricing is based on two people sharing a stateroom to be economically viable.
A Saga spokesman says there were only double rooms in Jayne Tee’s hotel. Some were available without a supplement, but as she booked only a month before her departure date, none was left.
Both Holiday inn and Marriott say their booking prices are set on a room-rate basis.
MSC says it has a ‘restricted number of single cabins’ which cost 50 pc less than a double, but it would not confirm how many.
royal Caribbean declined to comment.
A spokesman for ABTA says: ‘Sharing a room is not obligatory — it’s an option. Hotels mainly work on the basis that two people are staying in the room. if you’re not paying exactly double, you’re effectively getting a discount.’
Addressing single-room charges, he adds: ‘ Modern hotels tend to have more single rooms because of the changing demographics.
‘Single rooms are usually more than half the size of doubles and usually have en-suites, so they can cost more than half a double.’