28/08/2026
A couple who booked a week-long holiday in Cornwall a year ago were stunned to discover their bill had increased by £1,000 after their Airbnb owner introduced “dynamic weather pricing”.
Hugo and Charlotte, from Surrey, booked the cottage near St Ives for £1,000 last summer but enjoyed seven days of almost uninterrupted sunshine during their stay this month.
Owner Graham Trelawney says the additional charge is completely justified and insists weather-based pricing has been in the small print since he started letting the property.
“You must've booked it on a day when it was raining,” Graham explained. “Then you've come down here and had sunshine all week. Obviously that's going to cost more.”
When the couple complained, Graham said he couldn't understand what the problem was.
“People would give their left arm for a sunny holiday in Cornwall. I had a couple down here last year when it was henting down all week and I said to them, ‘If I could stop that rain right now, would you pay extra?’ They said they'd do anything to make it stop. So there you are.”
Graham says he got the idea after hearing about dynamic pricing on the news.
“All these big companies are doing dynamic pricing. I don't see people complaining about them, so why ain't I allowed? If I gets up and it's raining, normal price. If the sun's out, price goes up. You're paying for the privilege, it's as simple as that.”
Charlotte said they specifically booked a year in advance to keep the cost down and had no way of knowing what the weather would be like.
“Well, neither did I,” Graham replied. “I can't predict the bleddy weather, can I?”