· 86% of owners say they have been hit with costs they were never told about
· 19% report site fees rising by 50%+ in just five years
· 88% believe they would lose money if they sold today – typically around £10,000
· 79% fear they could be priced out of their own park within five years
· An estimated 6,169 holiday parks and campsites operating in the UK with a combined 439,828 pitches – meaning big money for unscrupulous dealings impacting individual owners
· Sector is booming – bringing in £12.2bn in visitor expenditure, supports 226,745 jobs and accounts for 5% of UK’s tourism GDP – with visitors staying up to 82% longer than the tourism average (UKCCA)
For hundreds of thousands of lodge and caravan owners across the UK, what was sold as a place of escape has quietly become a source of anxiety, financial pressure and regret.
New research published today reveals a pattern of rising costs, limited transparency and deeply unfair resale outcomes that are leaving many owners feeling trapped in a system they no longer trust, often at the very moment they most need flexibility or a way out.
The findings are released alongside the launch of LodgesAndCaravans.ForSale, an entirely new, privately owned and operated, consumer-first resale platform created from the ground up in direct response to what its founders describe as systemic failure in the lodge and caravan resale market. Built in-house to ensure full independence, ethical control and consumer protection, the platform has been deliberately designed to avoid the conflicts of interest that dominate traditional park-led resale models.
The launch is backed by property expert and television personality Phil Spencer, who has invested in the business and joined the board as a Director, alongside founders Robert and Sarah Kingsley. Spencer’s involvement reflects what he describes as the scale and consistency of consumer harm in the sector, and the absence of any genuinely independent route to market for owners needing to sell.
While the UK holiday park sector is widely promoted as one of the country’s tourism success stories, generating £12.2 billion in visitor expenditure, supporting 226,745 jobs and accounting for 5% of the UK’s tourism GDP, the lived experience of ownership is telling a very different story.
Exclusive research conducted among 1,000 UK lodge and caravan owners shows that behind the glossy marketing, many owners are grappling with escalating costs, opaque rules and resale processes that heavily favour park operators over individual consumers. This pressure is intensifying as the market matures, the owner base ages, and life-event sales linked to health, bereavement and financial pressure become more common.
A system owners say they never fully understood until it was too late
The research exposes a market where critical financial and contractual details are routinely unclear at the point of purchase.
Around 33% of owners say the most financially important information was not clearly explained before they signed. Only 61% say resale commission was clearly set out, despite it directly determining how much money they can recover when selling. Just 60% say age limits or end-of-life rules were clearly explained, even though these dictate how long a unit can stay on a park and how much it will ultimately be worth.
Upgrade requirements were only clearly explained to 61%, while licence length was understood by just 66%, leaving nearly a third of owners unsure how long they could legally remain on their park.
For many, the true cost of ownership only becomes clear once they are already locked in, at which point options are limited and losses feel inevitable.
Rising costs, shrinking confidence
Once ownership begins, financial shocks are not the exception, they are the norm.
· 86% of owners say they have faced costs they did not expect after buying
· Nearly 29% say those costs caused direct financial strain
· Owners report sudden site fee hikes, unexpected maintenance bills, siting and relocation charges, administration fees and pressure to upgrade units simply to remain compliant with park rules
Exit costs, including resale commission, removal fees and restrictions on how and where a unit can be sold, are frequently only discovered when owners attempt to leave. This reinforces a sense that the system is designed to make exiting difficult.
At the centre of owners’ concerns are site fees that continue to rise year after year. Only 5% report little or no increase over the past five years. Nearly 74% have seen increases of 10% or more, while 19% report rises of 50% or more in just five years.
For older owners and retirees on fixed incomes, these increases are pushing affordability to breaking point.
Trapped by losses, burdened by stress
As costs rise, confidence collapses.
· 84% say fee increases have made them consider selling or leaving their park
· 45% say this happens often or very often
· Yet 88% believe they would lose money if they sold today, most commonly between £5,000 and £20,000
The result is a growing sense of entrapment. Owners no longer enjoy their holiday home, but feel unable to leave without taking a significant financial hit.
The emotional toll is severe.
· 63% say caravan-related costs have affected their sleep
· 60% say their mental health has been affected
· 66% say their enjoyment of ownership has declined
· 62% say their overall quality of life has suffered
What was sold as a place to relax has become, for many, another source of worry.
Trust has broken down
Perhaps most striking is where owners now place their trust.
When asked who they would trust for advice on buying or selling, owners are more likely to name independent experts (39%) and specialist platforms (38%) than their own park (33%). This is a clear signal that confidence in the existing system has eroded.
That loss of trust has become the catalyst for change.
A new platform built to fix a broken system
The findings have driven the launch of LodgesAndCaravans.ForSale, a consumer-first platform designed to give owners a fair, transparent and genuinely independent route to resale.
The platform operates independently of park operators, using transparent, subscription-based listings rather than percentage resale commissions.
By using fixed, subscription-based listings rather than percentage commissions, the platform removes incentives to force undervaluation and aligns its interests with owners rather than transactions. It provides direct market access, pricing clarity, legal guidance and built-in safeguards for vulnerable customers, including human review, suitability checks and the ability to pause or redirect sales where selling may not be the right outcome.
Unlike traditional models, it is designed to say “no” when necessary, even if that means no sale.
Phil Spencer, property expert and consumer advocate, said:
“This should have been a dream purchase. For far too many people, it has quietly turned into a financial trap.”
“Owners tell us they were shown the lifestyle and the brochure, but not the full bill. And by the time the real costs, the rules and the restrictions become clear, they are already locked in.”
“What’s most concerning is how consistent these stories are. Rising fees, surprise charges, pressure to upgrade, then heavy losses when you try to leave. That is not bad luck. It is a system that simply is not working in the interests of consumers.”
“People would never buy a house without understanding every cost and every exit route. Holiday homes should be no different. This is about fairness, transparency and giving owners back control.”
Robert Kingsley, founder of LodgesAndCaravansForSale.co.uk, said:
“This platform exists because the resale system is failing owners, often at moments when they are most vulnerable.”
“We repeatedly saw people trying to sell because of illness, bereavement, financial pressure or changing circumstances, only to discover that the odds were stacked against them.”
“There was no genuinely independent route to market. So we built one. No commission, no hidden restrictions, no incentive to benefit from owner disadvantage, and the ability to say ‘don’t sell’ if selling is not the right thing to do.”
“Success for us is not volume. It is owners feeling informed, protected and treated with dignity.”
Demand for reform is overwhelming
The research shows the appetite for change is clear.
· 89% of owners say they would be likely to use a trusted, independent platform offering valuations, guidance and pressure-free selling
· 31% say they would be very likely to do so
With an estimated 6,169 holiday parks and campsites operating across the UK and nearly 440,000 pitches, the issue is not niche. It raises serious questions about consumer protection, transparency and whether something sold as a place to relax can still deliver peace of mind.
For many owners, the dream has already faded. The question now is whether the system can change, or whether thousands more will quietly find themselves stuck with an asset they can no longer afford, enjoy or escape.