HolidayExtras.com has introduced ‘Extra Days Parking’ in response to high demand from holiday makers who are bucking the age old trend of taking seven or 14 night trips and opting for longer stays instead.

The travel add-ons company has seen a huge increase in customers wanting to book 16 to 24 days parking to accommodate their longer holidays abroad. Over a ten day testing period HolidayExtras.com found that on average 3,500 people a day are requesting 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 days parking durations.

The figures released are backed up by the Office for National Statistics, which has reported an increase in average night’s stay for leisure holidays over the past five years; figures show from 2005 to 2009 the average length of stay has increased from 10.1 to 10.5 nights*. It seems for long-haul holidays to locations such as Australia, the USA and the Caribbean, holiday makers are staying on average for 26 nights and for short haul holidays to Europe for nine nights**.

In addition research from the Institute of Payroll Professionals found that “three quarters of workers think that the ideal length of time to be on annual leave in order to feel rested and recharged is eight or more days.”  They also found that, “workers in the UK may not be booking sufficient time off to feel the full benefits of a relaxing holiday”.

Anthony Clarke-Cowell, head of product innovation and merchandising at HolidayExtras.com said: “Most operators offer a parking stay of up to eight or 15 days and any extra days have traditionally been charged to the customer when they return from holiday.

“In recognition of this problem and as part of our on-going quest to make booking a holiday hassle-free, HolidayExtras.com has developed a system that allows customers to buy those extra days hotel parking up front.  This means no more unpleasant surprises for customers who are charged for extras days on return from holiday – not ideal when all you have on you is foreign currency.”