Holidaymakers have hit out at Centre Parcs with claims that the popular family resort has steeply risen prices during the half-term break.
Ian Addison, a teacher and father-of-two from Hampshire, sparked debate after he took to X to share the cost differences he found when booking a stay.
The parent was looking to book a four-night getaway in a two-bedroom Woodland Lodge in the Bedfordshire Centre Parcs – but was baffled by the reported contrast which some online have branded ‘crazy’ and even ‘criminal’.
According to his findings, for the week commencing 10 February, the stay costs £429.
However, during the week of half term, which starts 17 February, he found prices surged to a staggering £1,449 for the very same stay.
Ian jokingly wrote on X: ‘Does anyone know when half-term is? Oh, don’t worry, I worked it out.’
Social media users expressed disappointment with the extreme difference, dubbing it ‘criminal’ and unfair for parents and teachers.
Others claimed it punishes lower-income families, with one writing: ‘This penalises poorer families. They can’t afford to take their kids away in half term. They then end up breaking the law by taking them in school time or can’t take them at all! It’s so unfair.’
Social media users have complained about Centre Parcs appearing to surge prices during the half term break
X user Ian Addison took to the platform to share his findings that prices have shot up by over £1000 during the school holiday
Thanks to its extensive range of activities for children, Centre Parcs is often a popular choice for families.
However, social media users have claimed that the resort is unaffordable during the half-term period.
A Centre Parcs representative told MailOnline: ‘Center Parcs offers unique family short 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 each year we invest tens of millions of pounds improving our villages to ensure we meet their expectations. Center Parcs is an all-year round destination offering guests a choice of both weekend and midweek short breaks in a range of different lodge sizes and styles.’
Taking to X, one said: ‘People will say it is supply and demand, but kids being in school at certain times is a legal requirement. So, parents have zero choice but to pay three times the price if they don’t want to take their kids out of school and want a holiday.
‘The question is, are they jacking up prices because they can… or artificially reducing them when no one is buying? Either way, this seems like crazy pricing.
Centre Parcs is a popular choice for UK families looking for a short break with activities for children
Parents face a fine of £80 per parent for each child if taken out of school without permission for a week. This rises to £160 after 21 days, and then after 28 days parents can be taken to court.
Another said: ‘Working in a school, I’ve had to pay well over the odds every time I want to go away – it really is disgusting, especially for families with small children and should have been stopped long ago!
‘These companies should be banned from doing this. Prices should be consistent throughout the entire year.’
‘Cheaper to take kids off school and pay the fine,’ a third user quipped.
Another wrote: ‘That is criminal. What extra do you get during the highlighted period?’
A fifth said: ‘This makes me so cross. I’m trying to book to take my kids away this week because I can’t do it during term time. We’ve had an awful year and I think we really need some quality time together, but I don’t think I am going to be able to afford it just because I’m a teacher.’
However, another saw a different side to the price change, writing: ‘You can’t stop a business from making money, though.’
It comes after research conducted by MailOnline discovered that British families hoping to go on a foreign holiday during the May half-term last year faced paying up to 20 times more than the week after.
Social media users took to the comment section to share their thoughts on the price rise – and many were disappointed
The sky-high cost of jetting abroad to European destinations such as Spain, Greece and Portugal during the school holidays put huge pressure on parents to go abroad during term time and accept the fines for taking their children out of class.
Research by MailOnline carried out in May last year compiled the prices for a family of four adults and two children going away from Monday to Friday on an all-inclusive package holiday with easyJet Holidays, comparing May 27 to 31 with June 3 to 7.
The biggest price gap was for the Fergus Club Palmanova Park, a four-star family-friendly hotel on the Spanish island of Mallorca, which costed £29,771 during half term, 1,853 per cent more than the £1,524 cost for the first week of June.
This was something of an anomaly compared to the other holidays on offer, although there were plenty of others priced around two or three times more for half-term.
For example, the Altamadores Hotel in Gran Canaria was £4,111 for May half-term but £1,347 for 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 for May half-term, £1,010 for the first week of June and a price difference of 195 per cent more.
The Blue Sea Palm in Lanzarote was £2,922 for May half-term compared to £1,038 for June, which is 182 per cent more. And the Avlida Hotel in Paphos, Cyprus, was £3,031 for May half-term and £1,360 for June, making it 123 per cent more.
Others at least 100 per cent higher in the May half-term included the HD Parque Cristobal in Tenerife (£5,004 versus £2,331); the Sahra Su Holiday Village in Dalaman, Turkey (£2,758 versus £1,335); and the Ukino Terrace on the Algarve, Portugal (£2,536 versus £1,241).
Thanks to a range of activities on offer, Centre Parcs is particularly appealing for young families (stock image)
Premium resorts also saw big differences in monetary terms – such as the Seaside Palm Beach in Gran Canaria which is £6,458 in May half-term or £3,583 the week after, a difference of £2,875.
The Amada Colossos Resort on Rhodes was £5,757 versus £3,745, a difference of £2,012; while Cullinan Belek in Antalya, Turkey, was £8,069 versus £5,811, a difference of £2,258.
The high cost of holidays led many parents to have a serious think about whether it is worth taking their child 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 in school breaks is a real problem as it puts extra financial pressures on families and then some parents end up taking children out of school during term-time.
‘Unfortunately, doing that is disruptive both to the child’s education and their teachers who then have to try to help them catch-up. Fines are there as a deterrent but they’re a blunt instrument and don’t always work. We would encourage parents to talk to their schools rather than simply taking children out of school during term-time.’
Travel expert Nicky Kelvin, editor at large at The Points Guy, told MailOnline: ‘School holidays will always drive a huge surge in demand from families who are only realistically able to go away during these limited periods when their children are off school. The resulting cost is therefore no surprise and is a constant in the annual pricing cycle.
‘With no ‘right’ to a cheap holiday, supply and demand and other market factors will continue to drive prices higher, out of the realms of affordability for many. This will naturally lead to questions over whether parents are willing to take their children out of school in term time.
‘This is not an option for the majority, and so it becomes even more important to seek out the very best deals.’
He said that with no flexibility on dates, flexibility on destination is ‘key’, adding: ‘Those who are open to lesser-known destinations will likely find better bang for their buck.’
Mr Kelvin said one way to find a combination of cheaper accommodation and flights is to use the map feature in both Google Flights and Airbnb.
He continued: ‘Set the strict parameters and then look at the two maps side by side to find a sweet spot in the world where you can find both a more affordable stay and journey.’
Another option given by Mr Kelvin is to scour holiday companies’ website, set up price alerts and look for discount voucher codes online.
An easyJet Holidays spokeswoman told MailOnline: ‘At easyJet holidays we aim to offer brilliant value package holidays throughout the year, however urge our customers to book as early as possible where demand is greater, particularly in the half terms with holidays available right up until the end of October 2025 to plan ahead.
‘We do offer thousands of free kids spaces on selected holidays to popular family destinations of Cyprus, Egypt, Spain and Turkey alongside a wide range of hotels and board basis to suit all budgets with low deposits and flexible payment options.’
Sources within the company also pointed out that prices are linked to demand, with holidays in half terms throughout the year already largely sold in advance.