Many holiday parks in the Netherlands are luring people with a low prices but hidden costs can make them over a third more expensive, consumer organisation Consumentenbond has warned.

The Consumentenbond looked at the booking processes of some 16 holiday parks and found that all charge extra for cleaning, bed linen and tourist fees, but that in 11 cases, these cost were not factored into the advertised price. That meant that the final bill could be up to €160 higher.

At two holiday parks owned by Centerparcs and Landal ,the consumer organisation found a difference of €161 and €123 respectively between the advertised price and the final tally. In the case of Landal the price went from €329 to €452 in the course of the booking, an increase of 37%.

‘The holiday park advertising is very client unfriendly,’ Consumentenbond director Sandra Molenaar said. ‘Consumers don’t know what is what and that makes it difficult to compare prices. Besides, there is a law which says that fixed costs should be part of the advertised price.’

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It is important people are aware of the pricing methods, particularly because many people are opting for a holiday at home because of coronavirus travel restrictions, the consumer organisation said.

Beekse Bergen, Topparken, Droomparken, De Leistert and Bungalow were found to comply with the rules. Landal and RCN said they would mend their ways, the Consumentenbond said.