‘It has been awful,” said Russell Beale, who has been running a holiday cottage sleeping four on the Devon coast for 14 years. “Typically, we’re let for 26-34 weeks a year and full from Easter until the end of September. This year we’ve had less than 10 weeks of bookings.”

As the summer weather improved in August, he said, things had picked up a bit: “People seem to be leaving it really, really late.”

Beale is one of many holiday business owners and managers, predominantly from England, who shared with the Observer how they had been faring so far in 2024.

As early as spring, owners of holiday properties across the UK had reported a significant fall in bookings, with many blaming inflation, poor weather and an increasingly saturated market.

Beale said he had offered more flexible and shorter stays and a 30% discount in an attempt to boost summer bookings, even though this could mean he made a loss after cleaning and laundry costs, agency fees and mortgage payments.

“The weather hasn’t been great, but generally, I think everyone is just feeling the pinch, and life just seems expensive. When fish and chips is nearly £20, it’s understandable that people can’t afford to eat out, even on what were typical staples.”

Profits had always been meagre, Beale said, as running costs were high and constantly rising: “In our best year, 2021 we’ve made a profit of £7,000 or £8,000,” he said. “Last year we made about £1,500. This year we might break even, but I suspect we won’t. We’ve looked into selling, but have decided not to this year, because so many other people are.”

Beale’s experience chimed with that in other parts of the country, where several owners said they had put their holiday cottages on the market after a disastrous year.One owner of a self-catering holiday cottage in Wales, who wanted to remain anonymous, said 2024 had been the worst “in the 30 years I’ve been doing this”, with bookings “massively down, even with prices reduced to 2018-19 levels”.

The manager of a hotel in the Lake District, who wanted to remain anonymous, said there were big gaps in the calendar from mid-August through to October. They had had to slash prices to attract last-minute bookings, which began picking up three to four weeks ago.

“Guest expectations do not in any way match the reality of the prices they are paying,” they said. “Many expect a four-star hotel, which in this location could cost £200 or £300 a night, when they have paid, in some cases, not even £100.

“We know this because they are very quick to leave damning reviews and to complain about everything.

“We’re seeing a rise in the number of people cancelling bookings at the very last minute or just failing to turn up, with some blocking their bank cards to prevent payment being taken.”

Several respondents said budget holiday accommodation was having a particularly difficult season.

“I think businesses that haven’t invested and haven’t got nicer will really struggle,” said the owner of a medium-size luxury hotel in Scarborough, where 2024 revenue was down by about 25% on last year. “Customers have become much more tricky over the years, and expectations have gone up. Everyone had that huge boom after the first Covid lockdown, but the bubble has now definitely burst. It’s the biggest drop in demand and rates I’ve seen in 20 years.”

But some bucked the trend and reported a roaring season. Rebekah England, managing director of a letting agency specialising in luxury properties in the Cotswolds, Forest of Dean and Herefordshire, said bookings were up by 20% year-on-year.

But she said there was growing demand for spontaneous, last-minute holidays, as well as flexible arrival days and durations.

England said 2025 was looking promising. “[Advance] bookings for next year are already up by an impressive 75% compared with 2023,” she said. “Various overseas factors, such as heatwaves, flight cancellations and protests, are driving people to opt for short breaks closer to home in England.”

Susan McCarthy, 42, an independent tour operator specialising in the Channel Islands, said hotels on Jersey and Guernsey that had traditionally been family holiday destinations had “in recent years geared much more to luxury stays”, and that demand over the past two years had been exceptional.

“Clients are trading up,” she said. “Our core market was traditionally [looking to book] two- or three-star [hotels]. Now, even our traditional demographic wants an enhanced version of the traditional Channel Islands experience, and expects more across the board – a higher grade of hotel, luxury excursions such as boat trips and vineyard visits, private transfers, spas, fine dining and 24-hour service.”

Ian, who runs a complex of eight holiday cottages in north Cornwall with his wife, was cautiously optimistic. “A good end to the season is still possible, particularly if we enjoy an Indian summer in September and October.”

Some of his regular customers, who used to come two or three times a year, have only booked one stay this year. Ian believes this is down to “the impact of the cost of living crisis, no doubt”.

Now that the weather is better, Ian said he was almost fully booked until early September. “But,” he added, “we’ve only got one cottage filled in the week of Christmas at the moment. Normally we’d have four or five bookings by now.”