Center Parcs quietly makes huge change to its booking rules that affects millions
CENTER Parcs has changed its rules to allow teenagers to holiday without older supervision.
The family holiday firm used to require bookers to be 21 or over, but last month changed the minimum age to 18 to attract a younger market.
It said it wanted to ensure “younger families” were able to enjoy the parks – but the rules also open the doors to parties of school leavers checking in together.
Tourism expert Beverley Boden of Teesside University said the move would help the company to bolster its income by tapping a new
market.
She added: “This is a new way for Center Parcs to diversify its product and to increase occupancy during term time.
“It’s an opportunity to enter a young market and given the cost of living crisis, it will help them look to new income sources to maintain the grounds and to generate new revenue streams.
“This will clearly have an impact on the traditional middle class boomers who look for a civilised escape but entering a new market could be the way forward in income generation, which is to appeal to the masses during a difficult economic climate.”
Center Parcs, which has six holiday villages across the UK and Ireland, is currently up for sale for £5billion.
Canadian private equity firm Brookfield bought the holiday business for around £2.4bn in 2015.
Susannah Streeter, from Hargreaves Lansdown, said the move meant booking figures must be healthy.
She said: “Holidaymakers appear to have fallen back in love with the
great British break, but risks remain to sustained growth for Center Parcs, particularly as the lure of the overseas trip is strengthening post-pandemic.
“The chain has been put up for sale, for double the amount the current owners paid for it, and it needs to keep a full house of bookings to demonstrate high demand to justify the price.
“Tapping into the young adult market, may also help even out the
booking season, with the parks super-busy during school holidays and quieter during term time.
“Consumers also appear still willing to pay some hefty prices for
add-ons like luxury spa treatments, ring-fencing budgets for expensive treats and this could be an area of under-tapped potential for the parks to exploit among younger holidaymakers.’’
A Center Parcs spokesman said: “Center Parcs is a family short break destination, and we recognise that all families are different.
“As part of a regular review of our Terms & Conditions we made the change to ensure that younger families are also able to make special memories in our safe forest environment.
Center Parcs first opened in 1987 in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire.
Other parks opened later on, which now include Elveden Forest, Whinfell Forest and Woburn Forest.
It opened its first site in Ireland in 2019 with Center Parcs Longford Forest, near the town of Ballymahon.
Plans for a seventh site in West Sussex were scrapped earlier this year.
A mum revealed how you can save more than £500 on your next Center Parcs holiday.
Or if you want an even bigger bargain, there is a UK holiday park which people say is better – and cheaper – than Center Parcs.