A growing number of independent agents say there’s no longer any point opening on Saturdays as it’s become one of the quietest days of the week.
Since COVID, many say they’re much busier mid-week, with Friday late afternoon or early evening a busy time for homeworkers.
“In the old days, going back 30 years, Saturday was your busiest day and you did b***er all the rest of the week, but now Monday to Friday is very strong and Saturday is dire,” said Richard Slater of Henbury Travel in Cheshire.
“Sometimes you get a ‘super Saturday’ but then nothing for six or seven more Saturdays.”
Richard, who only opens from 9am to 1pm on Saturdays, said he was questioning whether it was worth opening at all. “Last Saturday we took only two bookings but the rest of the week was rocking; the previous week we did nothing on Saturday, but again, the week was rocking.”
Jo Brooks, who took over 50-year-old Footsteps Travel UK in Northampton, said it wasn’t worth opening the shop even during January and February Peaks.
“We didn’t open (on Saturdays) to start with, then the first Peaks we opened. We had people in but it wasn’t worth it for the work-life balance for the little extra income.
“We get people come in now and again saying ‘we tried you on Saturday and you weren’t open’, but the point is, they waited and came back on the Monday.
“We have another travel agency 200 metres away, so we may lose some to them, but a lot wait and come back.
“I think work-life balance is more important than losing the odd booking.”
Clare Dudley Adams, MD of Cambridgeshire-based Ponders Cruise and Travel, said she no longer opens on Saturdays either. “For us, we are far more valuable during the week,” she said. “If anything comes in as a missed call or email that needs attention, I tend to do it anyway, but being honest, that has probably only happened twice this year.”
Select Travel Holidays in Bedford stopped opening on Saturdays after COVID, though owner Rachel Wright still answers emails at the weekend. “99% of people coming in were bucket-and-spade and shopping around,” she said. “We also only open 9.30am to 4.30pm (on weekdays) and we haven’t seen any difference in business. I feel it gives my team a better work-life balance.”
Several other agents that continue to open on Saturdays told Travel Gossip they are busier during the week, with some considering closing at the weekend as a result.
One or two suggested recent posts on social media suggesting it’s cheaper to book midweek than at weekends might be partly responsible for a shift in booking patterns, though the trend towards working from home seems to be the most likely cause.
“Customers sometimes come in midweek and say they’ve only got a few minutes because they’re on their lunch break or they’re supposed to be working,” said Richard Slater. “There’s definitely been a change since COVID and people started working from home.”
One homeworker said they get a lot of bookings on Friday evening, and another agreed that Friday is a popular day.
Several agents said they were still busy on Saturdays, but one said they got a lot of lookers but not necessarily bookers at the weekend.
However, the UK’s biggest travel agency chain Hays Travel announced last year that it would open more of its stores seven days a week, capitalising on high footfall in some areas.
Currently, more than 160 out of almost 500 Hays’ shops open on Sundays.
“I think it depends where you are located and whether the area is busy at the weekend,” said one agent. “There’s probably no point opening if you’re in a village or small town, but it might be different if you’re in a busy city.”
