UK tourists are reportedly being “ripped off” by booking websites as foreign travelers are offered better prices.
A report from software company NordVPN found that Britons sometimes have to pay hundreds of pounds more than their European counterparts for the same holidays.
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In one case, holidaymakers received more than £1,000 extra for a seven-night stay at Disneyland Hotel New York in December of the Disneyland Paris UK website.
While British Disney fans were offered the stay for £6,562, users of the French page got it for just £5,406.
Similarly Brits can save £573 by booking a 10-night stay Caribbean Cruise via MSC Cruises’ Italian website, charging British tourists £3,338, compared to £2,765 for Italians.
Even well-known booking sites have breached the report, amid rising prices and the weakening of the pound.
Booking.com charged £293 less on its Spanish website for a seven-night stay at the Carnival Palace Hotel in Venice in February, while the German site of Tui charged £2,807 for two weeks of sun at the Hotel Riu Palace in Tenerife in June next year, £339 less than the UK site.
According to experts, the price variation has a number of reasons, including exchange rates, local taxes and Brits simply willing to pay more.
Marijus Briedis of NordVPN warned tourists to assume they were getting the same prices as everyone else.
He told the Daily Telegram: “Companies use all kinds of complex algorithms to capitalize on the purchasing power of different countries.
“They will routinely show” different prices on different website domains, and it may even differ depending on where you’re from.”
Meanwhile, consumer activist Jane Hawkes said: “For those not tech-savvy, try browsing online with the ‘incognito’ option.
“This means that your browsing history are not tracked and you will notice carrier prices falling. It could be a few hundred pounds cheaper.”
She added that the weakness of the pound to foreign exchange makes it more important than ever to get the best deal.
Tui, MSC cruises, Booking.com, Disneyland Paris and both hotels mentioned in this piece have been contacted.
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