IS A HOLIDAY BOND A GOOD GIFT IDEA?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

Q Two friends have been extremely kind while I have been undergoing medical treatment, and I would like to buy them something special for the future to thank them. I was thinking of a holiday bond. Is that a good idea?

Name withheld A It’s a lovely gesture, but I would like to provide some words of caution about the idea of a holiday bond.

I can understand the appeal of a long-term travel gift, and the leading firm Holiday Property Bond says it “provides holidays for life” in return for a minimum initial payment of £5,000. You can choose from “1,400 villas, apartment and cottages in 32 locations across 13 countries”.

The firm says: “As bondholders you can holiday in any of our holiday homes, in any location, at any time of year – and there are no exchange fees to pay.”

What there is to pay, though, is: “A no-profit user charge which covers the actual expenses of running, maintaining and refurbishing the properties.” This applies for each use of a holiday home and is likely to run into hundreds of pounds. Some users have complained that there is little difference between the “noprofit user charge” and normal commercial rates for non-bondholders.

In addition, there is an annual fee of £120, which will increase with RPI.

So if you would like your kind friends to have something that is going to cost them at least £10 a month, and hundreds of pounds more when they seek to use it, then go for a holiday bond. But personally I would offer a one-off experience. A cruise to New York and a business-class flight home to the UK for two could cost about the same as the initial £5,000 investment, and provide a lifetime of memories.

Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder

Timeshares allow bondholders to visit their holiday home of choice at any time, but the running costs of each visit are often equivalent to commercial rates (Alamy)