But agents are telling TTG more and more clients are booking their late summer getaways early and with more regularity, with many specifically reporting the need for a break after a summer spent providing childcare for their grandchildren.

It's no surprise Abta’s 2024/25 Holiday Habits report, which is based on a survey of 2,000 UK adults, found that for the past calendar year, the highest proportion of people aged 45 and above and without children at home were planning to travel in September (31%) or October (16%).

But what is new is clients specifying their need for a break, often after spending a chunk of their summer looking after their grandchildren as childcare prices soar. This year, summer holiday clubs covering Britain's six-week school break cost an average of £1,076 per child, figures from children's charity Coram suggest, with some regions experiencing hikes of up to 13% on last year.

This chimes with a poll of 1,000 UK grandparents with grandchildren under 18 by MyVoucherCodes, which found more than half of those surveyed (53%) would be stepping in to look after their grandchildren this past summer – an increase of 8% on last year.

'I'm all for it'

Bryan Bath, owner of Edinburgh's Bryton Travel, confirmed September and October were emerging as a more established peak travel periods for some of the agency's older clients.

"Some have been away with their families in the summer months," he said. "But with the rising cost of childcare, a lot have been helping out and have been too busy to travel, so we see a lot of grandparents going away to recover.

"They are booking in advance – maybe seven weeks or so – and with more regularity too, because they don’t want to be left with the dross. We have a very close relationship with our clients, so we are familiar with their motivations.”

Other agents have seen a flurry of bookings from this demographic in early September. Caroline O’Toole, head of cruises and development at JWT Travel in Galway, said the agency had experienced a “wave” of late bookings since the start of the month from clients in their late 50s, as well as the over-65s.

“These have included some fantastic late luxury bookings with Explora Journeys and Celebrity Cruises, particularly in the higher suite categories, which has generated great last-minute revenue for us," said O'Toole.

“We’re also seeing interest in last-minute river cruises and for Dubai and the Maldives. People are booking later but spending more, and are often opting for more premium experiences. I personally enjoy this shift in booking trends. If this is the direction things are heading – late bookings, higher spend and more first-timers – I’m all for it.”

Mixed picture?

Norwich's Oyster Travel is another to have experienced a shift. Founder Sophie Baker said the agency had a week at the start of September which "felt a lot like a second peaks", although this has since quietened down.

Lee Hunt, owner of Deben Travel, said September has typically been the agency’s busiest month for departures. “Not booking so many families, we find the adults book for September with the school holidays over, childminding duties done and it being the last month in Europe where the weather should be good,” he said. “A trend for us has been the amount of multi-centre holidays we are booking, particularly for those September departures.”

The Advantage Travel Partnership reported a less clear picture of September trading performance across its network. David Moon, head of business development, said: “We're observing a distinctly varied picture across our membership community in terms of current trading performance. While some of our members are reporting strong September figures, others are describing the month as challenging.

"This mixed performance is reflected in our data. Last week, our revenue intake remained flat compared with the same period last year, highlighting the uneven nature of trading we're seeing across our network.”