Notes
Plain-English notes on travel, prices, and how we build this site. Signed, dated, no fluff.
8 August 2026 · industry
The Binface surge is real: Clacton hotel prices jumped 10% in a day
Photo: Sannse at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Podcast clips with five-figure likes, The Times on the seafront, a wheelie bin drawn in the sky by light aircraft — and the sharpest one-day price move we've recorded for the town. A dispatch from day 13 of the by-election price study.
6 August 2026 · industry
Count Binface, 34 candidates, and what a by-election does to hotel prices
Photo: Sannse at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Clacton votes on 13 August with a record 34 candidates and a wheelie-bin-headed frontrunner for the protest vote. We've been recording the town's hotel prices since 26 July — the median for polling night is up, and the availability squeeze is sharper still. Mid-study dispatch, verdict after the count.
5 August 2026 · industry
How the booking sites are dealing with Edinburgh's tourist tax
Photo: Wikimedia CommonsThe levy is capped at five consecutive nights. Booking.com's system charges every night and leaves the refund to the hotel; Airbnb won't touch it; Hotels.com publishes nothing; trivago inherits whoever's behind the click. Two weeks in, a survey — and the arithmetic to check your own bill.
28 July 2026 · places
Goa: the dogs, the cows, and far too many LEDs
Notes from my own trip — amazing dogs, wandering cows, brilliant food, and the lights and litter Goa needs to get hold of.
25 July 2026 · industry
Edinburgh's visitor levy is live — what it actually means for your stay
Photo: Andrew Colin · CC BY 2.0Edinburgh now adds 5% to overnight stays, and Glasgow, Aberdeen and Wales are next. What the levy costs in real money, who collects it, and the booking-site catch nobody mentions.