Tourists have hit out at Center Parcs with claims the popular family resort has dramatically increased prices during the half-term holidays.
Ian Addison, a teacher and father of two from Hampshire, sparked a debate after he launched into unknown to share the cost differences you found when booking a stay.
The dad was looking to book a four-night break at a two-bedroom Woodland Lodge in Bedfordshire Center Parcs, but was left baffled by the reported contrast which some online have branded “crazy” and even “criminal”.
According to their findings, for the week beginning February 10, the stay costs £429.
However, during term week, which starts on February 17, he discovered prices rose to a staggering £1,449 for the same stay.
Ian jokingly wrote on X: ‘Does anyone know when half term is? Oh, don’t worry, I already solved it.
Social media users expressed disappointment at the extreme difference, calling it “criminal” and unfair to parents and teachers.
Others claimed it penalizes low-income families, with one writing: ‘This penalizes poorer families. They cannot afford to take their children away in the medium term. Then they end up breaking the law by taking them during school hours or not being able to take them at all! It’s so unfair.’
Social media users have complained that Center Parcs appears to increase prices during the half-term holidays.
X user Ian Addison took to the platform to share his findings that prices soared by more than £1,000 during the school holidays.
Thanks to its wide range of activities for children, Center Parcs is often a popular choice for families.
However, social media users have claimed that the complex is unaffordable during the semester.
A Center Parcs representative told MailOnline: ‘Center Parcs offers unique family breaks, welcoming over two million guests to our villages annually and we are 97 per cent full all year round.
‘Our guests demand a high-quality experience and every year we invest tens of millions of pounds in improving our villages to ensure we meet their expectations. Center Parcs is a year-round destination offering guests a choice of short weekend and midweek breaks in a variety of different sizes and styles of accommodation.’
Referring to X, one said: ‘People will say it’s supply and demand, but children being in school at certain times is a legal requirement. Therefore, parents have no choice but to pay three times the price if they do not want to take their children out of school and want a vacation.
‘The question is: are they raising prices because they can… or artificially reducing them when no one is buying?’ Either way, this price seems crazy.
Center Parcs is a popular choice for UK families looking for a short break with kid-friendly activities.
Parents face a fine of £80 for each child if they are taken out of school without permission for a week. This increases to £160 after 21 days, and after 28 days parents can be taken to court.
Another said: ‘Working in a school, I have had to pay much more than expected every time I wanted to leave. It’s really disgusting especially for families with small children and should have been stopped a long time ago!
‘These companies should be banned from doing this. Prices should be constant throughout the year.’
“It’s cheaper to take the kids out of school and pay the fine,” a third user joked.
Another wrote: ‘That’s criminal. What extra do you get during the highlighted period?
A fifth said: ‘This makes me so angry. I’m trying to book to take my children this week because I can’t do it during term time. We’ve had a terrible year and I think we really need to spend quality time together, but I don’t think I can afford it just because I’m a teacher.’
However, another saw the different side of the price change and wrote: “However, you can’t stop a company from making money.”
It comes after an investigation by MailOnline found that British families hoping to go on holiday abroad during the May half-term last year faced paying up to 20 times more than the following week.
Social media users took to the comments section to share their thoughts on the price increase, and many were left disappointed.
The very high cost of flying abroad to European destinations such as Spain, Greece and Portugal during the school holidays puts enormous pressure on parents to travel abroad during term time and accept the fines for taking their children out of class.
A MailOnline investigation in May last year compiled prices for a family of four adults and two children traveling Monday to Friday on an all-inclusive package holiday with easyJet Holidays, comparing May 27-31 with May 3 to June 7.
The biggest price difference was for the Fergus Club Palmanova Park, a four-star family hotel on the Spanish island of Mallorca, which cost £29,771 over the half-year, up 1,853 per cent on the £1,524 it cost in the first week of June . .
This was something of an anomaly compared to the other holidays on offer, although there were many others that cost two or three times as much for half term.
For example, the Altamadores Hotel in Gran Canaria cost £4,111 during the May half-term but £1,347 during the first week of June, a price difference of 205 per cent more.
For the Magic Cristal Park Hotel in Benidorm, the figures were 2,978 pounds for the May half-year, 1,010 pounds for the first week of June and a price difference of 195 percent more.
The Blue Sea Palm in Lanzarote cost £2,922 during the May half-term compared to £1,038 in June, up 182 per cent. And the Avlida hotel in Paphos, Cyprus, cost £3,031 for the May half-term and £1,360 for June, which is 123 per cent more.
Others at least 100 per cent higher in the May half-year included HD Parque Cristóbal in Tenerife (£5,004 vs £2,331); the Sahra Su Holiday Village in Dalaman, Türkiye (£2,758 vs £1,335); and Ukino Terrace in the Algarve, Portugal (£2,536 vs. £1,241).
Thanks to the variety of activities on offer, Center Parcs is especially attractive to young families (file image)
Premium resorts also saw big differences in monetary terms, such as Seaside Palm Beach in Gran Canaria, which costs £6,458 in the May half-term or £3,583 the following week, a difference of £2,875.
The Amada Colossos Resort in Rhodes was £5,757 versus £3,745, a difference of £2,012; while Cullinan Belek in Antalya, Türkiye, was £8,069 versus £5,811, a difference of £2,258.
The high cost of vacations has led many parents to seriously think about whether it is worth taking their children out of school to save huge amounts of money on their family vacation.
And Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told MailOnline last year: “The very high cost of holidays during school holidays is a real problem as it places additional financial pressures on schools. families and then some parents end up taking the children out of school during term time.
‘Unfortunately, doing that is detrimental to both the child’s education and their teachers, who then have to try to help them catch up. Fines exist as a deterrent, but they are a blunt instrument and do not always work. We would encourage parents to talk to their schools rather than simply taking their children out of school during term time.’
Travel expert Nicky Kelvin, editor-at-large at The Points Guy, told MailOnline: ‘School holidays will always lead to a huge surge in demand from families who can realistically only go away during these limited periods when their children They are not in school. Therefore, the resulting cost is not a surprise and is a constant in the annual price cycle.
“Without any ‘right’ to a cheap holiday, supply and demand and other market factors will continue to drive prices up, out of the reach of affordability for many. Naturally, this will lead to questions about whether parents are willing to take their children out of school during term time.
“This isn’t an option for most, which makes it even more important to shop around for the best deals.”
He said that without flexibility in dates, flexibility in destination is “key”, adding: “Those who are open to lesser-known destinations will likely find more value for their investment.”
Kelvin said one way to find a combination of cheaper accommodations and flights is to use the map feature on both Google Flights and Airbnb.
He continued: “Set the hard parameters and then look at the two maps side by side to find a sweet spot in the world where you can find a more affordable stay and ride.”
Another option Kelvin offers is to browse vacation company websites, set up price alerts, and search for discount coupon codes online.
A spokeswoman for easyJet Holidays told MailOnline: “At easyJet Holidays we aim to offer great value for money holiday packages all year round, however we urge our customers to book as early as possible when demand is highest, especially mid-term, with holidays available until the end of October 2025 to plan for the future.
“We offer thousands of free places for children on selected holidays in popular family destinations in Cyprus, Egypt, Spain and Turkey, along with a wide range of hotels and meals to suit all budgets with low deposits and flexible payment options “.
Company sources also noted that prices are linked to demand, with medium-term holidays throughout the year already being largely sold in advance.