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Getting price-gouged by private equity in the UK's happiest resort (2023)

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Re: Getting price-gouged by private equity in the UK's happiest resort (2023)

#41

Post by Stevvo »

ajb wrote: post #17
londons_explore wrote: post #10

Notably... This business owns a lot of forest in the UK. The UK doesn't have much forest. So, they can make themselves appear more valuable by pushing up the price of forest land. Forest land used to be priced based on the lumber value - which is almost nil. There was also the pricing element of the possible agricultural value if it were to be cut down (which is also almost nul, because the land is usually unsuitable…

Oh that's why forest land has gone up so much! Thanks, I'd seen the same rise, and couldn't figure out why.

Income from the sale of timber is exempt from income tax & corporation tax. Forrest ownership in the UK is quite literally growing money on trees.

Re: Getting price-gouged by private equity in the UK's happiest resort (2023)

#42

Post by mattlondon »

roenxi wrote: post #9

Based on the tone of the article, I think "price-gouged" is how this gentleman would describe any holiday based spending. He doesn't seem to like spending money on his holidays one bit. Every time he actually go into detail the practices seem normal and the prices fair. It took me a while to realise that this article does not seem to involve any price-gouging of any sort but is actually about pricing a private equity…

You are trapped in centre parks and they control the prices for everything. On a normal holiday you have choice of where to eat or what activities to do etc. You don't get that at center parca - it is like a stationary cruise ship where you can only leave when they allow it.

Re: Getting price-gouged by private equity in the UK's happiest resort (2023)

#43

Post by blitzar »

llimos wrote: post #37
rwmj wrote: post #6

PE is terrible, but this isn't a good example as there's plenty of competition for Center Parcs. Plus they raise their prices during school holidays when there's greatest demand, that's not an unfair practice, that's rationing out a limited resource when demand is greatest, economics 101. Bad PE looks like private equity trying to corner the market in vets[1] and dental practices[2], services that you don't really ha…

If the government want to help (and the new government has shown a strange attraction to price interference), they could simply let schools choose their own holidays, as long as they have the right number of school days in the year. It would be a bit harder for families with kids in different schools, but probably most schools would be _more or less_ the same, with just a bit more variation to spread it around a litt…

School holidays are already annoyingly staggered +/- a week for different schools.

Re: Getting price-gouged by private equity in the UK's happiest resort (2023)

#44

Post by michaelt »

snakeyjake wrote: post #28

I assert that if the occupancy rate is 80%, they're charging exactly what they should be charging. If you own a hotel in the US, you are over the moon if you achieve a >70% occupancy rate. You are a hotel god. You are a master of the hospitality domain, Cornell will give you an honorary degree in Hotel Management, and you have made both supply and demand your bitch. "Oh my! Why is this four bedroom luxury lodge with…

Four couples eight ways?!

Nah, that four-bedroom lodge spends much more time occupied by two parents with three children.

Re: Getting price-gouged by private equity in the UK's happiest resort (2023)

#45

Post by indymike »

kamaal wrote: post #24
blitzar wrote: post #2

This is really a story about EBITDA. "People who use EBITDA are either trying to con you or they're conning themselves."

Im not able to see the context here. How is it a con?

It's not if you use it to understand cash flow. If you use it as a profit replacement, you might be disappointed.

Re: Getting price-gouged by private equity in the UK's happiest resort (2023)

#46

Post by happymellon »

llimos wrote: post #37
rwmj wrote: post #6

PE is terrible, but this isn't a good example as there's plenty of competition for Center Parcs. Plus they raise their prices during school holidays when there's greatest demand, that's not an unfair practice, that's rationing out a limited resource when demand is greatest, economics 101. Bad PE looks like private equity trying to corner the market in vets[1] and dental practices[2], services that you don't really ha…

If the government want to help (and the new government has shown a strange attraction to price interference), they could simply let schools choose their own holidays, as long as they have the right number of school days in the year. It would be a bit harder for families with kids in different schools, but probably most schools would be _more or less_ the same, with just a bit more variation to spread it around a litt…

That would help for a lot of things that are priced around schools.

Flights can be 1/3rd the price with less than a week before/after summer break.

Re: Getting price-gouged by private equity in the UK's happiest resort (2023)

#47

Post by bedhead »

The author wrongly implies that if Center Parcs was just owned by a public company or an individual, that those controlling entities would simply not care about making a profit and wouldn’t charge the prices they do. Author also ignores inconvenient facts such as how the private equity firms actually spent a lot of money upgrading parks in order to make them the desirable locations they are today. I suppose author would’ve preferred they be kept in disarray but cheap?? I could go on but no point. This kind of left wing economic ignorance (redundant?) is tiring but sadly expected. Private equity isn’t perfect but it’s been made out to be some sort of bogeyman it’s demonstrably not.

Re: Getting price-gouged by private equity in the UK's happiest resort (2023)

#49

Post by m101 »

This is not price gouging, but rather it's a price the market supports.

The debt shouldn't make a difference to pricing unless debt free owners were reducing pricing below what they could charge (with the trade off being that you won't be able to book except with quick fingers on days of release).

Re: Getting price-gouged by private equity in the UK's happiest resort (2023)

#50

Post by petesergeant »

pacifika wrote: post #38
NeoTar wrote: post #15

> which is why it’s spelled in the somewhat Francophile Center Parcs, and not Centre Parks. (I thought this is why we did Brexit?) Pardon me? The French for center/centre is centre - the 're' ending of British English spelling is either taken from the French, or sometimes a direct reference to French spelling (i.e. 'prestige' spelling - like how some American publications will use British English spelling because the…

Stopped reading after the euro bashing as well

You have apparently mistaken a very British word joke for something else
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