11 costly mistakes to avoid when booking a UK holiday cottage

Cheap UK holiday cottages aren’t easy to come by, but book carefully and you can avoid falling into common expensive traps.
 
Mistakes such as forgetting to compare the price of holiday lets across several listing sites or accidentally booking a trip during a popular local event, and the cost of your cottage holiday could soar.

Flexibility is key to stretching your budget further. Read on for our advice on booking your UK cottage holiday accommodation.

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Mistake 1: Accidentally booking your cottage stay during a local event

It might be a pleasant surprise to realise you’ve booked a cottage just down the road from a local festival, annual fair or sporting event. But that serendipity can come at a cost. If the event is particularly popular, you may find yourself splashing out more because demand is higher for nearby accommodation. 

For example, we found a house rental on Airbnb for three nights over the Gold Cup horse race meeting weekend in Cheltenham for £896. The weekend before is £360.

Saving = £536

Search for rentals on Airbnb

Mistake 2: Settling for the first cottage price you see 

Found your dream cottage? Check it isn’t listed cheaper elsewhere. Holiday cottages often appear on multiple booking websites at different prices. In a matter of minutes, we found savings worth hundreds of pounds. 

A week's stay in the Lake District in a four-bed holiday home for six adults was £3,926 through Airbnb, £3,012 on Vrbo and £2,580 on Booking.com. That doesn’t mean Booking.com is always cheaper. No single site is consistently cheaper, so it pays to shop around. 

Saving = £1,382, or £230 per adult for the week. 

Search for rentals on Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com

Mistake 3: Not booking your holiday cottage direct

Booking directly with a holiday cottage owner can save you money on third-party fees. 

For instance, an eight-person cottage in the Cotswolds was £3,538 on Airbnb and £2,900 on Independent Cottages - which puts you in touch with the owner directly.

Ensure you find a cottage owner who accepts payment by credit card rather than bank transfer to protect yourself against fraud. Ask them about their cancellation policy upfront and get this in writing - in case your plans change later.

Saving = £638 

Mistake 4: Falling for rip-off cottage listings

 The downside to booking directly is that it can leave you vulnerable to scams. Advertising non-existent properties is a common scheme. 

Check that the cottage exists by looking up the address on Google Maps and using street view, if available. And use third-party review sites such as TripAdvisor rather than just trusting the cottage’s website. For added peace of mind, use a listing site that does verification checks to confirm the property exists - even if you book directly afterwards.

You can also be targeted when using cottage companies. Scammers can intercept emails you thought were going to the provider and convince you to pay them directly. If in doubt, call the company or owner to check if it was them that requested this.

Saving = not losing all your holiday money to a con artist

Mistake 5: Assuming a shorter cottage break will be cheaper 

The longer you stay in a cottage, the lower the rate often works out per night. Investing in one long break can be cheaper than taking multiple mini-breaks. 

For example, Heevara Cottage in Cornwall, booked through Which? Recommended Provider (WRP) Classic Cottages, works out at £173 per night for three nights, £138 per night for four nights, £117 per night for five nights, £109 for six nights and £103 for seven nights. 

Prices tend to bottom out after about six or seven nights, so there was very little difference in value between 7, 14 or 21-night stays. 

The same can be said for holidays abroad too. Our research found that 11-night holidays tend to be cheaper than 10.

Saving = £70 per night (if choosing a seven-night stay instead of three)

Search for rentals with WRP Classic Cottages

Mistake 6: Booking a UK cottage holiday too far in advance

Getting organised and booking ahead of the seasonal rush can save you money. Still, it’s also possible to shave pounds off the price by checking late-availability listings on holiday cottage websites. 

Be aware of fake savings. Without tracking prices over time, it’s difficult to tell how much of a bargain you’re getting - so keep an eye on cottages you like and record the prices to see if they drop.

Mistake 7: Booking a holiday cottage over a weekend 

Planning your stay over a weekend will make less of a dent in your annual leave allowance, but you may find yourself stumping up a premium for the privilege. Swap a weekend break for a weekday getaway, and you may get an extended trip for less. That rule won’t apply to every cottage, but it’s worth a try if you can be flexible.

For example, 2 Mill House in Cornwall, on The Landmark Trust (another Which? Recommended Provider) site, is £573 for a three-night stay from Friday to Monday in June 2024. But when we searched for a stay starting Monday, we could get the same cottage for less and stay an extra night: £508 for four nights.

Saving = £65 (and gain an extra night)

Search for rentals with WRP The Landmark Trust

Mistake 8: Heading away in the school holidays

If you can, travelling during school term time will obviously save you money - but you might not have realised just how much. Some cottage listings are hundreds of pounds more expensive over the half-term breaks and Easter, and we found cottages that doubled in price in the summer holidays. 

A Landmark Trust cottage in Cornwall was almost half the price in September compared to August. A three-night stay would set you back £1,065 in August and £576 in early September.

Saving = £489

Mistake 9: Choosing peak popular dates for a UK break

Although during the peak season, you can often save during school holidays by changing the date you travel. We checked two week-long cottage stays in August 2024 (both starting on Fridays), and one was £127 less for the week. Ty Coch in Betws-y-coed on the Landmark Trust’s website was £1,477 from 2 - 9 August and £1,604 from 23 - 30 August.

There are some discrepancies between bank holiday dates across England and Wales vs Scotland and Ireland, too. You can sometimes use this to your advantage if booking a stay in a different UK nation.

Saving = £127

Search for rentals with WRP The Landmark Trust

For the best cottage holidays, regardless of price, choose a Which? Recommended Provider - discover which companies made the cut in our cottage holiday survey.

Mistake 10: Booking cottage breaks in Wales for summer 2024

Wales was once a cheaper destination to find a holiday let. But when we looked at a week’s stay on or around 10 August 2024 back in October, that wasn’t the case - at least with Sykes, Cottages.com and Holidaycottages.co.uk.

You’ll save £191 if you book a cottage in Scotland, £213 if you choose Northern Ireland and £155 if you rent in England instead of Wales*. This was an average price found on 4 October - so be mindful that not all cottages in Wales will be pricier and that prices could fluctuate throughout the year.

Saving = £155 - £213

Search for rentals on Holidaycottages.co.uk, Cottages.com or Sykes

Mistake 11: Choosing the wrong location for your hot tub holiday

The average price of a one-week cottage stay in August 2024* is £1,018. This includes properties of all sizes and those with and without tubs. After filtering down to include only cottages with hot tubs,  the average cost jumped to £1,483. You could save hundreds by forgoing one.

If a hot tub is a non-negotiable, be flexible with your location to save money. England is the priciest place to rent a hot tub cottage at £1,575 on average.

Saving = £465 +

Search for hot tub cottages through some of our Which? Recommended Providers: Rural Retreats or Sally's Cottages

* On 4 October, we looked at prices on the three biggest holiday cottage websites, Sykes, Cottages.com and Holidaycottages.co.uk, for a week’s stay on or around 10 August 2024.